Unexpected Gift
by Yaoi Scribe
Summary: Repost. Kazuma Kuwabara finds his world turned completely upside down after being captured and forced to have sex with Ani Toguro. Warnings include yaoi, mpreg, etc.
1. Prologue

Author's note: I am putting this story back up because I believe that it is one of my favorites. While I now have no reviews on it, I did save the ones I had before. If you want to review again, that's great…I hope that this story is still as well loved as it was before. I don't own any characters from Yu Yu Hakusho and I am not making any profit off of this so you can't sue me. You know the drill. Here is yet another wonderful storyline that my muses felt needed to come out. I guess I can patent the Kuwabara x Ani Toguro pairing because I seem to be the only one who has ever written this, though there may be a reason for that but hey, that's not MY issue! Anyway, this contains slash along with male pregnancy so if that squicks you, please leave. For the few that aren't grossed out… read and review!

Prologue: Wishful Thinking

Four weeks later, Kazuma Kuwabara still refuses to think about the events that occurred as he doesn't want to remember what happened or with whom it happened. It was bad enough that he has to see it replay over and over in his mind at night. "Are you sure nothing happened while you were kidnapped?" Shizuru asks for the eightieth time.

"Yes," he says irritably, "Yes I am sure nothing happened!"

"It's just you have been acting so strangely these past few days," she murmurs. Kuwabara doesn't answer. He has yet to reveal that there was another person being held a few corridors over. That would raise too many questions that he doesn't want to answer. He walks past Shizuru and heads up the stairs. He has a sudden overwhelming urge to shower…again. He hasn't felt clean since he was captured on a failed mission to relocate an artifact for Koenma. It had been a false report anyway though Kuwabara takes little solace in that knowledge. As he turns the water on in the bathroom, his mind returns to his month long captivity and the one even that had triggered his distressed state. He still has no idea how the demon managed to find and free Ani but somehow, he had faced him for the fourth time, though this time they were in the same boat. Both were warded and unable to attack their captor who made it quite clear that if they did not obey him, he wouldn't hesitate to kill them. Obeying him, however, made Kuwabara feel like he would rather be dead. He cannot believe that he had actually given into the demon's demands or that Ani had let him that close to him. 'Don't think about it,' he berates himself viciously, 'It's over and done with and you don't ever have to deal with it ever again. Ani will keep his mouth shut because it wouldn't look good for him to tell what happened. Gods, I can't believe that I actually did him!' He shudders at the memory of holding Ani tightly to him. He doesn't want to remember how good it felt to hear Ani whimper and moan his name or how powerful he felt claiming the small demon. He slips under the spray and clears his mind. It was over and done with and he wasn't going to ever have to deal with it again.

* * *

Ani finds himself greatly wishing that his brother had stayed in Limbo rather then having been released by Koenma. It would make him less tempted to slice him into cubes and scatter his remains in the nearby pond. Gritting his teeth, Ani fervently wishes that he were NOT related to Oto. "Would you please let it go, LITTLE brother?" he snaps stressing the fact that he was older and therefore expected to be obeyed. Much to his annoyance Oto does, as was usual with him, the direct opposite and doesn't let up.

"You are acting out of character, brother, which means that you aren't saying something," Oto answers obviously enjoying this greatly.

"NOTHING HAPPENED!" Ani snarls at him, "I have told you this forty-eight million times!"

"If that were so then you would not be getting so defensive," his brother remarks calmly. Ani wants to scream. He doesn't want to tell his brother anything let alone something THAT embarrassing but he also knows that Oto won't quit until he knows the whole story.

"If I am not being completely honest that is my choice! I am entitled to my secrets, Otouto!" he grits out. When he used his brother's full name, it meant that the discussion was over and that pushing him much farther would only end up with someone, namely Oto, dead. His brother never had much common sense.

"You are hiding something and I want to know what that is."

"It's none of your business. Don't worry. It's over, done with, and can rest peacefully in the past. I don't want to discuss this any farther with you. Respect my wishes or I WILL send you back to see Koenma!"

"Very well, brother. I only hope that you are right and it doesn't come back to haunt you." Ani just storms off. 'Stupid, idiotic…err, why do I put up with him?' he thinks. He heads into his room and slams the door shut behind him. He knows he's acting rather childish but at the moment he doesn't' care. There was nothing to worry about. All that happened was that he was freed from that damn plant and captured by a pathetic excuse for a demon. While there, he was forced to permit Kuwabara to claim him. Nothing was going to haunt him over it! He lies down on the bed and stares up at the ceiling. 'Come back to haunt me? What does he think is going to come back and haunt me? There is nothing about this situation that could come back to haunt me!' Finally reassured, he drifts off to sleep not realizing that Oto was right in warning him. Only time would reveal his brother's words as true…


	2. Part One

Part One: You Have Got to be Kidding Me!

Kuwabara slowly gets back to his normal schedule and it doesn't take long for the others to forget he was ever kidnapped in the first place. He tries not to think about Ani too much though the demon was more often then not at the forefront of his mind. It was difficult for him to forget the way the demon's body felt pressed to his own or the sounds that came forth when Kuwabara was claiming him. The carrot-top sighs softly. Why in the world had that had to happen to him? He hadn't asked to have to feel guilty about taking one of his enemies. It wasn't fair! "Kazuma, are you all right?" Shizuru asks yet again.

"I am fine," he answers automatically but he wasn't. He was no where near fine. It was taking everything he had to keep from accidentally telling the others and opening a lot of doors Kuwabara would prefer stayed shut. He sees that his sister doesn't believe him but she doesn't press him either. Part of Kuwabara wishes that she would though the other half is grateful that she keeps her distance. He doesn't want to face the revelation that would bring for a long, LONG time. Kuwabara walks past Shizuru before heading outside and to the one place he knew where he could get his mind off of the stress of being a spirit detective, the arcade. Maybe a few hours of shooting people would make him feel better.

* * *

Ani looks up at the ceiling for the fifth time. He really, really wants to get out of the damn office and go home. For some weird reason, Oto forced him to go to a demon to be checked over for any lasting injuries. Ani has no idea why he agreed to do it…oh wait, yes he does. He had agreed to do it in order to shut his younger sibling up. Growling, Ani wonders what is taking the idiots so damn long. 'It's a simple physical. Surely these idiots can't screw it up THAT much,' he thinks. There was nothing wrong with him. He was perfectly fine but NOOO Oto just had to go and force him to see a doctor to be sure of that. Another growl escapes him and he starts to ponder how best to slice the idiots up when they arrived.

Almost an hour passes before the door opens. Ani is already angry before the doctor enters. "You had better have a good reason as to why I was forced to sit here for almost an hour!" he snarls. The demon looks at him worriedly for a moment.

"I apologize for the long wait. We were getting your tests back," the demon murmurs.

"Fine! Can I go now?" he demands.

"Umm…yes in just a minute."

"Why can't I go now?"

"Because…ummm…you see..." The demon can't finish the sentence he's trembling so badly and Ani begins to wonder what on earth could make the idiot THAT scared of him.

"What are you babbling about?" he demands. The demon takes a deep breath while looking like he was about to convict himself of some heinous crime.

"You…you're…you're pregnant," the demon stammers. For a moment, his words don't sink in. When they do, Ani is flabbergasted.

"Pregnant? Did you say that I am PREGNANT?" he hisses.

"Umm…yes," the demon says meekly. Ani stares at him struggling to comprehend what the demon has just revealed.

"That isn't possible," Ani finally manages, "It can't be…there's no way…"

"Yes there is and yes you are," a new voice responds. He looks at the other demon in the doorway. "You are going to have to be very careful now that you are about a month and a half along." It takes a few minutes before the irony of the situation catches up with Ani. If he was a month-and-a-half pregnant that would mean that the father of the child is…

"You have got to be kidding me!" he shouts, "There is no way in hell this is possible!" Both demons look at him sympathetically as if they had seen this reaction coming and it wasn't too unfamiliar to them.

"There is no joke, Ani. You are seven weeks pregnant," the second demon tells him. Ani looks at him for a moment. He takes a deep breath and tries to regain some semblance of calm. He cannot believe that after all he's been through, he ends up pregnant with his enemy's child. He remembers Oto's warning and gets even more aggravated.

"Is that all?" he asks through gritted teeth. The demons look uncomfortable once again and Ani knows that more bad news is about to be revealed. "What now?" he demands irritably. He doesn't have time to watch them stare at each other and then at him.

"Your brother has been informed," one of them says softly, "It's a policy that we have. The families must be informed when a male is pregnant." Ani closes his eyes and inwardly winces. This was going to be a fun conversation THAT was for sure.

"Okay, so my brother knows that I am seven weeks pregnant. NOW can I go?" he demands.

"Yes, yes you may go," they tell him. Ani walks out feeling like someone punched him in the gut. What was he going to tell Oto? He couldn't reveal that the father was Kuwabara! That would be TOO humiliating. Well, he would have to think of something to tell his brother as he sees him sitting in the Waiting Room. Oto looks up as he enters and Ani braces himself.

"Nothing wrong huh," his brother comments.

"Shut up," he says immediately. Oto smirks.

"So who's the father?"

"We aren't discussing this, Oto."

"Well, I want to know so that I can kill them."

"That is unfortunate for you. Leave me alone about this, brother. I just want to go home and rest. This hasn't been easy on me."

"Nothing is ever easy on you, Ani."

"Shut up, Oto." The burly demon merely smirks before placing Ani onto his shoulder. The shorter demon just rests against him. 'I am carrying Kuwabara's child,' he thinks miserably, 'What did I do to deserve THIS!' Before he's aware of it, he falls asleep on his brother's shoulder and knows no more...


	3. Part Two

Part Two: Truths Come Out

It doesn't take too long for Kuwabara's friends and family members to realize that Kuwabara is hiding something. It is in the way the carrot-top gets rather testy when the mention of his kidnapping is made. "Look, Kuwabara, we know something else happened while you were kidnapped," Yusuke says stubbornly. Kuwabara completely ignores him. "Come on, man, we're your friends. You can trust us with this. We aren't going to turn away in disgust." Still Kuwabara doesn't answer. He knows that once he does reveal the truth that they WILL turn away. There was no way they would be able to handle the fact that Kuwabara had to have sex with Ani Toguro. "Kuwabara, tell me what happened. You've been acting strange ever since you got back. I'm getting worried."

"Let it alone, Urameshi!" Kuwabara snaps at him.

"No, Kuwabara. This is starting to effect your performance. What happened while you were kidnapped? Did that demon touch you?" "No!"

"Then what happened? I promise, I can take it. You can trust me."

"No you can't. Not this, Yusuke."

"So something DID happen!"

Kuwabara sighs realizing that now he had no choice but to tell his longtime friend. 'I just hope he keeps his word,' he thinks. "Yes, something happened. There was someone else there as the demon's prisoner."

"Who?"

"Elder Toguro."

"Ani?"

"Yes, Ani. He was taken from that tree Kurama had him in and was warded."

"I'm beginning to not like this, Kuwabara."

"Yeah, well you're not going to. There was a reason I didn't want to tell you this. You see, this demon decided that because both of us couldn't defend ourselves that he would have some…fun. He told us that if we didn't do what he said, we'd be sent to our afterlives and he wasn't kidding."

"What did he demand?"

"I had to…to…" Kuwabara's voice breaks and he can't finish. He looks away from Yusuke shamefully.

"Kuwabara, what happened?"

"I had to have sex with him okay? I had to have sex with Ani Toguro!" His voice is shaking as he snaps it at him. He watches as the realization dawns on Yusuke's face.

"Oh my god," the demon whispers, "You had sex with Ani Toguro? That had to be gross!" Kuwabara deems it necessary to NOT tell Yusuke that it was actually very pleasant. He doubts his friend would be able to handle it. "So that's what you have been hiding. I can understand now. Man, that demon didn't die slow enough. So which of you was on top?"

"Me," Kuwabara answers dejectedly. Yusuke stares at him for a moment before busting into laughter.

"You were on top? That has to be fate's best dose of retribution. Man, I bet that's why he hasn't shown his face if he's been around since you got out. I don't think he can stomach having been taken by you," Yusuke chortles.

Kuwabara doesn't answer. He is just glad that Yusuke seems to be taking it well. That still left the reactions of Hiei, Kurama, and his sister Shizuru. "Could you not tell Hiei and Kurama just yet? I don't really feel like dealing with the two of them on the same day I tell my sister. Shizuru's going to take it badly enough and I don't want to hear Hiei insult me," Kuwabara asks.

"Sure. Good luck telling Shizuru. You're going to need it," Yusuke answers. Kuwabara doesn't doubt it for a moment.

* * *

"Who is the father?"

"I am not telling you, Oto."

"Who?"

"I am NOT telling you."

"Who?"

"None of your goddamn business, brother!" Ani grits his teeth and glares up at the burly demon. This was the eighteenth time they had this argument and it is sorely tempting Ani to skewer his brother. It was bad enough he was pregnant without having to deal with a nosy younger sibling. He storms out of the room and outside to avoid a longer argument that went absolutely nowhere and left Ani feeling ill. He wanders around the backyard trying NOT to think about the situation at hand. Unfortunately, it seems to be all he CAN think about. 'I am carrying Kuwabara's child…this is beyond pathetic,' he thinks, 'Stupid human just HAD to get captured didn't he? Why is it he's always the one to get kidnapped? If he had just been slightly more intelligent maybe this never would have happened. Why the hell did that demon drag me there anyway?'

"Ani, what is going on?" a familiar and rather confused voice inquires. Ani turns around to see Bui and Karasu looking at him curiously. It was Karasu who had asked the question. Ani scowls. "What are you talking about, Crow?" he demands.

"Your argument with Oto," Karasu answers. Ani grits his teeth. They had heard them? This was wonderful. 'Why oh why did you feel it necessary to send Bui and Karasu back to us, Koenma?' he wonders, 'Did you know what sort of torture that would be?' "Ani?"

"Would you like to live long enough to go bother Kurama?" the shorter demon demands.

"Yes," Karasu answers.

"Then mind your own business, both of you," he snaps. Bui and Karasu decide not to push the issue with Ani and head inside…probably to ask Oto. Ani growls realizing that his brother would probably tell them just to spite him. 'This day just keeps getting better and better,' he thinks heading inside to see what his brother told them.

"He's what?" Karasu's voice carries into the foyer and Ani sighs. Of course, he knew his brother all too well. He walks into the living room and finds both Bui and Karasu staring at his brother in shock. "Why don't you tell him, Ani?" Oto asks.

Ani glares at him. "It is really none of his business, little brother, nor is it yours. I would like to remind you that I am still OLDER then you and I don't take well to you vexing me," Ani retorts.

"Are you pregnant?" Bui asks. Ani sighs.

"Yes, I am seven weeks pregnant! Are you happy now?" he grits out.

"Who's the father?" Oto asks.

Ani growls. "None of your damn business, baby-brother!" he yells.

"I want to know who it is."

"Well, that, Oto, is your problem NOT mine! I would really like it if you would stop stressing me out so much. I have enough issues without you trying to get information that is none of your business. I don't even like the fact that you know I am pregnant!"

"It's my right to know who's child you're carrying."

"No, actually, it's not. I am older then you therefore, you don't have to know anything about me that I don't think is prudent."

"Don't make me get angry, brother."

"Don't threaten me. You know full well you don't scare me at all." Ani crosses his arms and stares at him stubbornly. He is not about to admit who the father is. One, he knows how his brother will react, and two, he doesn't want to admit it to himself. The phone rings interrupting the conversation. Ani picks it up. "Hello?"

"Ani?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"You were here yesterday for tests…"

"Oh you, what do you want to tell me now?"

"Well, you are aware of who the father is right?"

"Yes, I know who he is."

"Well, in a situation like this, Koenma is going to get involved." "What?"

"Well, it is one of his detectives. He is going to be notified." "Koenma is going to be notified? How much more bad news are you going to give me BEFORE you leave me alone?"

"We need to talk to your brother."

"Absolutely not! I draw the line at you telling HIM anything!"

"It is policy, Ani!"

"I don't care if it is the law! You are not going to talk to my brother!" The phone suddenly gets yanked from his hand and he's gently shoved out of the way.

"Hello, this is Oto," his brother says. Ani closes his eyes wishing desperately that he was dead. He watches his brother's reaction and cringes when he sees his brother's shoulders tense. "The father is WHO?" he asks in a soft dangerous tone. Ani trembles and waits. "Kuwabara. The father is Kuwabara? Thank you, you've been very helpful." He hangs up the phone and faces Ani who looks ready to flee. "How the hell did THIS happen!"

"I…umm…" Ani stammers.

"You umm, what?"

"I was warded! There wasn't much that could have been done!" Ani snaps at him.

"You do realize that Koenma is about to find out, right? Does he know?"

"Who, Kuwabara? No, he doesn't know. I don't want him to know either!"

"Well, I hate to say this but I think that he's going to find out after Koenma discovers this."

"Leave me alone, brother. I don't want to talk about this," Ani tells him tiredly. He looks up at his brother, "Please, just let this go. I need you on my side…for once." He sees Oto look shocked. "I mean it, Oto. I need my brother on my side…please."

The burly demon sighs. "You have the worst luck of anyone I have ever met," Oto murmurs, "all right, calm down. We'll talk about this AFTER Koenma contacts us yelling and screaming."

Ani smiles softly and nods. "Thank you, brother."


	4. Part Three

Part Three: Chaos and Confusion

Koenma is not pleased to be interrupted while trying to catch up with his paperwork. He stares at the ogre, who had the nerve to interrupt him, impatiently. "What?" he snaps.

"Umm, Koenma, sir, you have a call. They say that it is imperative that you take it," the ogre tells him timidly. Koenma scowls.

"Everyone who calls me says that it is important," he grumbles before taking picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"Prince Koenma?" an unfamiliar voice inquires.

"Yes. Do you need something?" he asks.

"I apologize for interrupting you but you needed to be informed that one of your spirit detectives has fathered a child."

"What?"

"One of your spirit detectives, Kazuma Kuwabara, has fathered a child. The demon he impregnated is seven weeks pregnant."

"If you are trying to cause trouble for my detectives…"

"Sir, I am a doctor. I saw the patient yesterday. He is seven weeks pregnant with

Kuwabara's child. If you have questions I can come there and talk to you."

"The demon is MALE?"

"Yes, the demon is male."

"That can't be right. Kuwabara was kidnapped during that time. There was no way that could have happened!"

"Actually, there is. You see the demon in question was also a captive with Kazuma."

"Who is this demon?"

"Ani Toguro."

Koenma's eyes widen and he almost drops the phone. "A-Ani T-Toguro?"

"Yes, sir, Ani Toguro."

"How…what…"

"Well, you should know how that happened, prince."

Koenma manages to calm himself. "I know HOW it would have happened! It's the fact that ELDER TOGURO is the one pregnant that concerns me. I can't believe…well, I CAN believe that Kuwabara wouldn't have revealed that he fathered a child with Ani."

"Kuwabara doesn't know."

"He doesn't know? Does Oto?"

"Yes."

"Oh dear. Thank you, I am going to have to cut this short in order to keep a rather evil demon from killing on of my detectives."

"Have a good day, Prince."

Koenma hangs up without responding. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

Kuwabara had gotten Ani pregnant? This was going to cause a whole lot of trouble.

He dials a number and waits.

"Hello?" Oto asks.

"If you go anywhere near Kuwabara I will not hesitate to send you straight to limbo!" Koenma snaps, "He doesn't know and further more, I don't want you threatening him!"

"He got my brother pregnant, Koenma! How am I supposed to react?"

"You are going to focus on watching Ani and you are going to leave Kuwabara alone. He has enough issues with being a Spirit Detective and being a High school student without worrying about being killed by you for something I don't think he could help."

"If you wanted to, you could just not tell him that he got Ani pregnant if it concerns you THAT much."

"That is true. I could just keep this underwraps. Stay away from him, Oto. He doesn't need to deal with knowing he fathered a child with his greatest enemy. The four of you can raise that child."

Once Oto hangs up, Ani knows something is off. "What did he say?" the shorter demon inquires.

"He's not going to tell Kuwabara anything," Oto answers, "and he wants me to stay away from him."

"Maybe it's for the best. I don't think Kuwabara would want to know that he fathered a child with me," Ani murmurs.

"Do you honestly feel that way?" Oto asks.

"I don't' think it matters what I do or do not feel."

"Talk to me, Ani."

"I don't' know anymore, brother. I haven't been able to think about anything but what happened and now that I know I'm pregnant, I can't stop thinking about it. I'm confused…I don't know what to do."

"I know that. You need to rest more. Stop worrying so much. You're a champion worrier, you always have been. Karasu, Bui, and I are fully capable of taking care of the house just as well as you do."

"Be that as it may, you don't often do it."

"I know. You do far more then is good for you."

"You're beginning to scare me, brother. One would think that you actually have a heart if you keep talking to me like this."

Oto chuckles. "I haven't lost ALL my human quirks," he murmurs. Ani rolls his eyes before curling up on the couch. He hadn't been completely honest with his brother. It bothered him greatly that Kuwabara would never know about his child. 'Why do I care?' he wonders, 'I shouldn't care what that oaf would think!' Sighing, he rests his head against the armrest of the couch. Somehow, this was going to backfire he just knows it, and he would be the one to take the fall.

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Kuwabara remembers why he hadn't wanted to tell anyone about Ani after listening to his sister yell for over two hours at him. With a major headache, he goes outside for some fresh air. He begins walking down the street. 'I don't see why she had to do that. It's not as if I WANTED to take that freakish little midget,' he thinks bitterly, 'I would never willingly touch that midget like that!'

'You wouldn't?' a voice in the back of his mind asks, 'I seem to remember you enjoying him very much.'

'I did NOT!' he argues.

'No?'

'No.'

'Don't lie to yourself, Kazuma. You know full well that given a chance you WOULD take Ani again.'

'Th-that's not true! I wouldn't!'

'You don't sound so sure of that.'

'I am sure!' Kuwabara shakes his head trying to clear his mind. "I'm arguing with

myself, wonderful," he grumbles, "What else has to go wrong?"

"Hey, Kuwabara, did your talk with Shizuru go well?" Yusuke calls coming up

the street. Kuwabara grimaces.

"As well as it can when she yells nonstop for two hours," he answers.

"Man, I can see why you don't want to tell Hiei and Kurama today. Why don't you come home with me and I get you some Tylenol?" Yusuke suggests.

"Sounds good to me. I don't want to deal with this pounding head all night."

Yusuke grins and heads back the opposite way. Kuwabara follows with the distinct impression that Yusuke had known how Shizuru was going to react and was waiting for him. 'I can't wait to see how Hiei and Kurama take this,' he thinks morosely, 'If I am lucky, one of them will kill me and get it over with…Hiei probably.' With a rather bitter smile, he follows his best friend into his house still not wholly understanding his own feelings about the situation at hand and wishing he did.


	5. Part Four

Part Four: Fun Reactions, and Reminiscences.

It was finally time to tell Hiei and Kurama, though Kuwabara is really dreading it. He doesn't want to give Hiei any more ammunition to use against him then the fire-demon already had. He lets out a depressed sigh and paces back and forth waiting on Kurama and Hiei to arrive. He had chosen the park as the best place for this sort of conversation as it seemed to have the most calming influence on everyone. "So, oaf, what was so important that you felt you needed to call a meeting?" Hiei demands. He personally wasn't interested in anything the carrot-top had to say but it would probably make for some good entertainment.

"It's not so much important as something I need to tell you. I don't think you'll care very much but for the sake of you not hearing it spread around in the Makai, I wanted to tell you here. When I was captured on that mission, the demon also had Ani with him. While both of us were warded the demon made us have sex. That is the secret I have been keeping from you for these past few weeks," Kuwabara admits softly. Hiei stares at him for a moment. The idiot had sex with one of the Toguro Brothers? That must have been rather awkward.

"I can see why you didn't want to tell us, Kuwabara," Kurama says faintly, "The elder Toguro Brother did the most damage to you."

"Oh, you haven't heard the best part in all of this," Yusuke chortles, "Kuwabara was on top."

"This ningen fool took Elder?" Hiei asks. Kuwabara scowls. Leave it to Hiei to insult him at every turn. He was never going to get along with the egotistical demon that believed that no human could be considered as good as a demon. He sighs and shakes his head. Nothing would ever change Hiei's personality and that just bothers Kuwabara even more.

"You know what, shrimp? No one asked you for your opinion of me! Why don't you just listen without insulting me?" Kuwabara demands.

"Because I don't like you," the fire-demon answers before turning and disappearing in the direction he had come.

"Don't mind him, Kuwabara. You know how Hiei is. I am sorry about what happened. Thinking about that cannot be easy," Kurama murmurs.

"I try not to think about it," the carrot-top answers.

"Yeah well, that is understandable. I wouldn't want to touch that midget with a ten foot pole let alone any other part of my body," Yusuke comments. Uncharacteristic anger floods Kuwabara hearing Yusuke say that and he's shocked to realize that he has a deep-set desire to tell Yusuke that he's being an ass. 'Gods, I am not wanting to defend elder Toguro…oh this just keeps getting better and better,' he thinks.

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"How could you NOT tell me that it was Kuwabara?" Oto rages. Ani scowls at him.

"Why don't you think about what you just said and maybe come up with an answer on your own!" he fires back just as furiously. He is getting tired of having to defend himself at every turn.

"I still don't get why you haven't decided to get rid of it," Bui comments from the couch, "You despise the very ground that Kuwabara walks on and since he's never going to know about it, it would be the easiest thing for you to do." Ani doesn't respond. Truthfully, he HAD thought about getting rid of it because of the very fact that it WAS Kuwabara's child. He just can't seem to find the desire to do so and is adamantly refusing to think too deeply into why he won't.

"Why don't you two stop pestering him for an hour?" Karasu cuts in, "It's bad enough that he has to deal with being pregnant by Kuwabara. You two don't have to continuously give him grief over it." Ani is grateful to Karasu for his intervention, as he was growing tired. It seemed most of his energy was going to this growing child and leaving him with less and less to use for himself.

"I am going upstairs to sleep. Please…please don't bother me," he says before walking out of the room. He hates how pathetic and utterly human he was becoming and he grits his teeth. That demon was going to pay…if he wasn't already dead. 'You know he is,' he thinks, 'Yusuke would have already killed him for going after one of his friends. I hope Koenma sent the poor excuse for a creature to Limbo. It's what he deserves.' He walks into his room and shuts the door before walking over and climbing onto his bed. He is asleep the moment his head hits the pillow.

_The first thing he is aware of is the bright light shining in his eyes. Wincing, he closes them and reopens them only once he is adjusted to it. It takes him a minute to realize that sunlight is streaming in through a window into his eyes, which is what had awoken him. Sitting up, he makes two realizations; he is out of that damned tree and he's warded. A slight irritated growl escapes him. Whoever did this was going to pay and pay very badly. "Ah, you're finally awake," an unfamiliar voice remarks. He turns to see a demon sitting in an armed chair across the room. The demon gives him a not so pleasant smile. _

"_You do realize that once I am unwarded, I will skewer you, right?" Ani demands. The demon's smile becomes a cold, cruel smirk._

"_Well, you can try and accomplish that…if you get unwarded. For now, though, you are at MY mercy, Ani. You can't adequately defend yourself and if I wanted to, I could send you on to join your brother," he answers. Ani scowls hating that the bastard was right. He WAS vulnerable. _

"_Then why DON'T you kill me?"_

"_What would be the fun in that?"_

"_Great, you're a sadist."_

"_You could say that." _

_Ani scowls. "Why don't you go bother someone else? I am not in the mood to be bothered by some wanna-be evil demon who has an obvious death wish." The demon just laughs before walking over and easily picking him up. Ani finds himself carried like a sack of potatoes. "Put me down!" he snarls. The demon ignores him and Ani hits him uselessly. "I said put me DOWN!"_

"_No," the demon answers calmly before stopping before a room. Ani looks over his shoulder wondering what the demon is up to. A few unpleasant thoughts cross the shorter demon's mind and he decides that it is better to NOT think about them. The demon opens the door and steps in. Who Ani sees makes him wonder what deity obviously hates him. Kuwabara stares at him in stunned horror. "Well, detective, I have finally decided on what it is you are going to do for me." _

"_You can't make me do anything, you creep," Kuwabara grits out obviously trying his best to avoid looking at Ani. _

"_If you want to live you will," the demon responds. Ani sees Kuwabara's helpless expression and wonders what in the world the demon wants him in here for. "I see that you are willing to comply to my wishes, wonderful." He drops Ani on onto the floor in front of him. "I believe you know each other?" Ani doesn't respond; he merely scowls at the demon. "Good. Kuwabara, you are going to take him here and now." _

_The demon's words startle Ani and it takes a moment for them to fully sink in. When they do, it's not pretty. "Excuse me? There is no way in HELL I am letting that human touch me!" Ani yells._

"_Yeah, there is no way I am touching the midget demon!" Kuwabara wholeheartedly agrees. The demon merely smiles in that same unpleasant manner. _

"_Would you like to live long enough for your friends to attempt to save you, detective?" he asks Kuwabara. The carrot-top looks at him angrily. "I am completely capable of killing you here and now." Ani's blood freezes as he realizes that the demon is actually telling the truth. He looks at Kuwabara and sees the teen has realized the same. "Sixteen is such a young age to die. You have your whole life ahead of you and I am not asking much."_

"_You're asking me to touch someone I can't stand being ten feet close to let alone THAT close," Kuwabara answers. _

"_Then you will die," comes the simple response from their captor. Ani scowls. This was just great. Fate seriously found him a wonderful source of entertainment, it seemed. He looks at Kuwabara and sees the troubled expression on the teen's face. It really annoyed him that this was happening._

"_Just do it, Kuwabara. I highly doubt it's worth you dying over," he snaps at him._

"_Are you honestly telling me to…to…fuck you?" Kuwabara asks._

"_No, idiot, I am asking you to marry me…of course I am telling you to do what this poor excuse for a creature wants!" he snaps at him. Kuwabara looks highly startled and then rather embarrassed. _

"_Idon'tknowwhattodo," the carrot-top mumbles too fast to make out clearly._

"_What?" Ani demands._

"_I. Don't. Know. What. To. Do." Every word is obviously forced out of him. _

"_Oh, is THAT all? It's not too difficult," he answers airily. This wasn't going to be fun but at least he wasn't going to see Koenma anytime soon. He isn't looking forward to having Kuwabara touch him, but that could not be helped at this moment. _

"_You make it sound so simple," Kuwabara grumbles._

"_That's because it is simple, human," Ani tells him, "Even you should be able to get it."_

"_Don't patronize me, Toguro. Hiei insults me enough for one lifetime so I don't need your bullshit."_

"_Ooh, you actually have a comeback! Wow, three years must have increased your IQ slightly."_

"_Do you want me to be relatively nice to you?"_

"_Are you threatening me?"_

"_He NEVER said I had to be kind to you." _

_Ani growls at him. "You had best not hurt me, child. If you do, I will make your life miserable."_

"_Gee, you're sweet."_

"_Shut up." Kuwabara merely smirks at him and Ani curbs the urge to hit the smug teenager hard in the mouth. _

"_Are you two done?" the demon inquires. Ani grits his teeth. Of course he would want to watch them do this._

"_Yes," he says shortly. He turns towards Kuwabara. "This isn't too difficult. First of all, it involves removing your clothes. Can you do that?"_

"_I understand THAT part," the carrot-top grumbles before he reluctantly begins to pull his clothes off. Ani hides a satisfied smile as he does the same. He might not be able to use his spirit energy but that still left being sharp-tongued and cruel. He looks at the carrot-top once he's completely naked and makes a rather startling discovery. The teen actually looked rather…good. 'Leave it to Kuwabara to actually be rather attractive,' he thinks not that he would EVER tell the idiot that. "Okay, now that you're finished getting your clothes off, let's get this over with BEFORE I become deathly ill from staring at you naked."_

"_Yeah, well you're not so hot yourself," Kuwabara snaps back. Ani scowls at him._

"_Can we get this over with?" he demands getting rather annoyed._

"_Fine," the carrot-top huffs. Ani reigns in his temper and takes a deep breath. He is NOT looking forward to this. _

"_For all comfort purposes, let's do this on the bed," he tells Kuwabara. The cerulean-eyed youth nods still looking highly unsettled. 'At least you get to be on top,' Ani thinks irritably. This was absolutely embarrassing. He was about to be taken by the one person in the entire universe that he truly despised. Once they are both on the bed, he turns to face Kuwabara. He absolutely hates that he has to let him take him. "You two look like you want to kill each other. Come now, be a little more loving," the demon remarks, "You can't have good sex if you're trying hard not to punch the other's lights out."_

"_He has NO idea what he's doing and personally, I DON'T want him touching me!" Ani snaps at him._

"_Yes, well you do realize that if you don't make me happy, I will kill you right?" _

_Ani grits his teeth. This demon was truly beginning to push his buttons. "Well, that is quite impossible as neither of us likes the other."_

"_Well, then maybe you should get to…know each other. Let Kuwabara take his time getting to…know you." The sly smile on the demon's face tells Ani just what he had in mind and the smaller demon truly hates him. _

"_What exactly do you want me to do?" Kuwabara demands. _

"_Explore him and get to know him. He can't hurt you," the demon responds grinning malevolently at them, "Your only other choice is to die." The look on Kuwabara's face would have scared an A-Class demon had he been unwarded and Ani is truly beginning to wonder if agreeing to this was such a good idea. _

"_You are really, really pushing my patience," the carrot-top grits out. _

"_Well, you don't have much of a choice now do you? I call the shots at the moment, detective, so be a good boy and do as you are told." _

_Gritting his teeth, Kuwabara turns to face Ani. "I think I hate him almost more then I hate you," he says quietly moving close._

"_I am starting to agree with you," Ani mutters. He watches as Kuwabara's hand moves towards him. He watches it, wondering if the carrot-top would actually do as the demon said. A startled gasp escapes him as Kuwabara's hand brushes over his nipples. He sees his nemesis smile and inwardly groans. Kuwabara was going to have a field day with this._


	6. Part Five

Part Five: The Fat is Really in the Fire Now

_It doesn't take Ani too long to decide that maybe dying, while definitely not as pleasant as this, would be less embarrassing. Another whimper escapes him as Kuwabara's hand brushes down his stomach and lightly over his erection. The carrot-top was taking his time and exploring him at his leisure and while pleasurable to Ani, it is still highly humiliating that he can't keep from vocalizing his delight. He watches Kuwabara look him over rather intently. "Would you quit already?" he gripes, "I am having a hard enough time WITHOUT you drawing this out." Kuwabara merely smiles at him before putting a little more pressure between his thighs. Ani closes his eyes as he becomes fully erect and his thighs spread. He really, really hates Kuwabara at the moment. The carrot-top didn't HAVE to keep doing this for hours though he seemed determined to find out what made him whimper and moan. Ani was so going to kill him when he got out of here. "Are you done yet?"_

"_No," Kuwabara answers before smirking and wrapping his hand around his erect cock and starting to pump it. Ani closes his eyes and moans as pleasure spills through him. Leave it to Kuwabara to want to humiliate him like THIS. His hips start rocking against Kuwabara's hand and he closes his eyes. If he had no other choice but to let this happen then he might as well enjoy it. _

_As time wears on, Ani realizes that for being completely inexperienced, Kuwabara is a quick learner. He has never felt this much pleasure before though he hasn't had much to compare it to, in all honesty. He writhes beneath Kuwabara wishing that he would finish and leave him alone just as much as he hopes he doesn't stop anytime soon. _

_Finally, Kuwabara slips down between his thighs. "Where from here?" he asks. Ani takes a deep breath to collect himself as he has still yet to find relief. _

"_Give me your hand," the short demon answers. Looking rather questioning, he does as Ani bade. Ani brings Kuwabara's hand to his mouth and wets his first three fingers. He feels Kuwabara tremble slightly and can't avoid the temptation to nip him gently. He then pulls away. "Can you figure what to do from here?" _

"_Yes," Kuwabara answers obviously showing that he wasn't as stupid as most people believed and then proving it by gently starting to stretch him with his fingers. Ani grits his teeth as the intrusion hurts at first until Kuwabara's finger presses against a bundle of nerves that causes pleasure to explode through him and makes him cry out. Kuwabara smiles and continues to brush against that spot as he slowly adds a second and then a third finger into him. Ani closes his golden eyes once again and rocks against him. _

_After a few minutes, Kuwabara pulls his hand away and Ani whimpers in protest. Kuwabara merely smiles before lifting him up and gently putting him down on his hips and sliding into his tight, hot body. Ani groans as he feels Kuwabara's thick flesh enter him. Nothing had ever felt THIS good. Slowly, Kuwabara starts rocking his hips forward. Ani finds his legs wrapping around Kuwabara's waist as he pulls closer to the carrot-top. His hard cock rubs against the youth's taut stomach with every thrust and soon both of them are lost in their pleasure._

Ani wakes up sweating and rather aroused. He grits his teeth and curses Kuwabara for doing this to him. Somehow it was all that stupid human's fault that he was in this mess and he would make him pay…after he threw up that was. He races into the bathroom and loses the contents of his stomach. Clutching the sides of the toilet he curses the human AGAIN. 'Bastard, I WILL make you pay!' he thinks furiously, 'I WILL make you pay!'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kuwabara finds that he feels a little bit better having told those closest to him about what happened with Ani though his sister still has yet to stop giving him odd looks and avoiding being in the same room. He doesn't know quite why she is doing it and part of him is too afraid to ask her. Some things were better not thought about or faced for a long time.

That afternoon, he gets a call from Yusuke that Koenma wanted to speak to all of them. He would call to Yusuke's phone and since the dark haired youth happened to have speakerphone as an option on his telephone, all of them would be able to hear without having to have someone else relay the information. It worked rather well and because Yusuke's mother was often drunk, she never remembered anything she might have overheard. He heads over there grateful for a reason to leave his house. The atmosphere had gotten suffocative since he had told Shizuru and he looked for any reason to leave.

He finds himself the last one to arrive but isn't too surprised. "Hey, Kuwabara, how are you?" Kurama inquires.

"I'm all right. Shizuru's being unusually difficult about this, though. She hasn't let up about what happened and I don't like being in the same room with her," he responds. He sees Yusuke shake his head.

"I don't know what her problem is. It's not like you wanted to do that to him," Yusuke comments. Kuwabara is saved from having to answer him as the phone rings. "Wow, for the first time, he's right on time." He reaches over and presses the speakerphone button. "Urameshi residence."

"Hello, Yusuke, is everyone there?" Koenma inquires.

"Yep, they're all present and accounted for. What's up?" Yusuke responds.

"Well, there it has been brought to my attention that Shinobu has been revived," the prince answers. The spirit detectives look at each other worriedly. Shinobu Sensui was alive? This wasn't good.

"When did you find this out?" Yusuke asks.

"Right before I called you."

"Do you have any idea what he's plotting."

"Not a clue."

"That doesn't help, Koenma."

"I know that. I have been trying to find anything out while trying to deal with other problems that have arisen."

"What could be more dangerous then Shinobu?"

"Not more dangerous, per say, but just irking. I will try to get back to you on what I find but you MUST be prepared for anything."

"Yeah, he's on definitely evil dude. We learned that from the LAST time we had to face him."

"Don't be snide, Yusuke."

"I am not. We'll kick his ass just like we did the last time. Don't worry so much."

"Well, I worry about all of you. You should not have to do this over and over again."

"Well, it gives us things to do. We'll keep a look out for that nutcase with the seven personalities."

"Good. Be careful, all of you."

"Yes, mother."

"Yusuke!"

The brunette grins cheekily but off course, Koenma can't see that. He shakes his head and releases the button for the speakerphone that enables Koenma to hear them. They, however can still hear whatever he says. When it is silent for a few moments they think he's hung up. "Well, I guess that's it, guys. You heard the tot, be careful and if you see Sensui, run in the opposite direction," he tells them. Kuwabara sighs and turns to go. Before he even gets to the door, Koenma begins speaking again. Obviously, he had forgotten to hang up the phone.

"Great, this is not what I need. Shinobu, you have to pick the worst times to come back. Couldn't you have waited a few more years? I don't want to have to deal with you AND Ani who is pregnant thanks to Kuwabara. Gods, this is not my century."

Kuwabara stares at the phone in stunned horror as Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei look at him. Pregnant. Ani was PREGNANT by him? "This definitely complicates things," Yusuke remarks. Kuwabara just faints.


	7. Part Six

Part Six: Deception

Kuwabara's eyes flicker open and he realizes that he's still at Yusuke's house. "Hey, you're finally awake," Yusuke remarks looking down at him, "For a moment, we feared you'd given yourself a concussion."

"No…unfortunately," Kuwabara answers slowly sitting up. He looks at Yusuke.

"Did I hear Koenma right? Did he say that Ani Toguro is pregnant because of me?"

"Yeah, that's what he said. I don't think he wanted you to know, though."

"Well, obviously if he hasn't told me then yeah, he didn't want me to know. I can't believe this. How does a male demon get pregnant?"

"That is a perplexing question," Kurama remarks, "I have never heard of such a thing. This is a most unusual situation."

"Kurama, this is Kuwabara we're talking about. We should expect something of this caliber from the idiot," Hiei remarks in his typical scornful way. Kuwabara scowls at him.

"No one asked you, shrimp!" he fires back.

"Hey, both of you, take it easy. There is no need to start spilling blood over this. We'll figure out what to do. In the meantime, we need to focus on finding Sensui. We can't let the bastard try and open the portal again. It would be way too dangerous were we to deal with another apocalypse type situation," Yusuke cuts in. Kuwabara doesn't answer. He wants desperately to speak with Koenma about why he hadn't been told that he had gotten Ani pregnant. He knows he won't be able to rest without the prince's answers. "Kuwabara!" Yusuke's irritated call brings him back to the present and he looks at him. "Would you please pay attention?"

"I'm sorry, Urameshi," he says, "but no, I can't. I have to talk to Koenma. I need to know."

"Kuwabara, you're wasting your time. Ani's probably already gotten rid of the child," Yusuke answers.

"How can you say that?"

"He's Ani, that's how. Think about this rationally for a moment, please. You were the one to get him pregnant; wouldn't you think that would make him want to do something like abort the baby? He's not going to keep a child you, of all people, fathered on him. It's just not going to happen, but if it'll make you feel any better you can call Koenma and ask him."

Kuwabara merely picks up the phone and redials the Prince's number. He waits for a moment. "Hello?" Koenma asks.

"Why didn't you tell me that Ani was pregnant?" he demands.

"What?"

"Why didn't you tell me Ani was pregnant? I think I would have a right to know if I fathered a child with someone."

"Kuwabara, how did you find out?"

"You were talking about it after you spoke to us. Yusuke didn't turn the speakerphone all the way off; he just muted your side. We heard you talking about not wanting to deal with Sensui or the fact that I got Ani pregnant."

"I didn't want you to worry, Kuwabara. You have enough going on without having to deal with this sort of knowledge."

"I need to ask him if he's gotten rid of the child. Do you know?"

"No. if he had, it would take me a couple more weeks to get paper work on it. Would you like me to call and ask if he did?"

"Yes."

"All right, hold on." Kuwabara listens to him click over and waits. He doesn't want to think about what he'll do if it is proven that Ani did indeed abort the baby. It hurts too much to imagine. Finally, he hears Koenma's voice. "Kuwabara…this is very difficult to tell you but yes…yes he did," the prince murmurs. Kuwabara's eyes shut tightly.

"How could he?"

"I don't think he wanted to deal with a child that was fathered by you. I don't know what to tell you. I thought this might happen and that's why I didn't want to let you know. I knew Ani wouldn't keep it. You are his worst enemy; there is no way he'd keep your child."

"Thank you." Kuwabara's voice is hoarse.

"You're welcome. Take it easy but don't blame yourself. There is nothing you could have done." Kuwabara hangs up the phone and stares at Yusuke helplessly.

"He did it didn't he?" he asks. Wordlessly, Kuwabara nods. He still has a hard time believing that Ani is quite THAT evil. Kuwabara knows that he pushes the limit sometimes but he thought that there were still human traits within him. Obviously, he thought wrong.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Koenma hangs up the phone with a sigh. He had averted another catastrophe. Though he hated to lie to his detectives, he couldn't let Kuwabara know the truth. The carrot-top is better off not knowing that his child is safe and sound with a demon that is determined to see his child born. With Kuwabara and Ani's history, neither would go out and look for the other one. The secret would be safe…permanently. He hadn't seen any other way to do this. With their worst enemies back again, he needed all of them to be focused on taking them down. Kuwabara would not be focused if he was too busy worrying about his child.

------------------------------------------------------

Ani spends two hours in the bathroom throwing up. Once he does, he slowly makes his way downstairs looking pale and trembling. "Are you all right?" Karasu asks when he enters the room.

"I just lost all the contents of my stomach from the last few weeks, what do you think?" Ani answers.

"That is disgusting," Bui comments from the couch, "I still say you should get rid of it."

"Yes, well your opinion means shit to me," Ani retorts.

"Well, then don't complain about being sick," the blue-haired demon answers shortly.

"I was merely answering Karasu, you lumber-jack! Why don't you mind your own business?" he snarls.

"When you're talking within two feet of me and I overhear, it IS my business, you midget freak!" Bui snaps back. Ani looks at him startled.

"What did you just call me?" he asks.

"I called you a midget freak!" Bui repeats. To both Bui and Karasu's shock, Ani's golden eyes fill with tears.

"Why do you have to be so mean?" he wails before bursting into tears and fleeing the room. Karasu stares at Bui.

"You just made Ani cry…Oto is going to kill you," he says before heading out of the room and after the sobbing demon. 'Mood swings…wonderful, he's got mood swings,' the violet-eyed demon thinks racing up the stairs. He gets to Ani's room and finds Oto there already. The burly demon is trying to calm his brother down. "He's having a mood swing," Karasu murmurs walking over. Oto looks at him.

"What brought this on?" the burly demon demands.

"Bui called him a midget freak and it upset him."

"That idiot is going to die. My brother doesn't need him making this worse."

"Well, why don't I stay here with Ani and you go get Bui?"

"Okay."

Karasu finds his arms full of a sobbing demon and sighs. This was not a scene he had ever envisioned. He just cradles Ani to him for a while until the smaller demon calms down. "Please tell me that I didn't burst into tears in front of Bui," Ani says his voice muffled from him still being against Karasu's shoulder.

"Do you want me to be completely honest with you?" Karasu asks.

"I did, didn't I?"

"Yes."

"Marvelous. Now I get sick and I can't keep calm. I don't think I am going to be going anywhere anytime soon."

"I wouldn't blame you."

Ani slowly pulls away ashamed and angry that he can't keep his emotions in check. 'Kuwabara, I really, really hate you for this,' he thinks though he still cannot bring himself to abort the pregnancy, 'I must be a real glutton for punishment.' From downstairs, he can hear Bui yelling and a slight smile crosses his face. At least there was a slight perk to all of this.


	8. Part Seven

Part Seven: More Surprises

After a few sleepless nights, the Spirit Detectives are beginning to wonder about

Koenma's information. They had yet to see any trace of Shinobu. "Why hasn't that bastard revealed himself?" Yusuke growls, "There is no way he'd plot quietly for THIS long!"

"This does seem odd," Kurama agrees, "Though he may have developed a new strategy since our last encounter."

"Even if he did, he'd still come to say hello. He's beginning to worry me," Yusuke answers.

"He might be doing it on purpose," Kuwabara points out.

"That is a possibility," Kurama says. None of the others want to think about that. They have been meeting at Yusuke's house everyday after school because it was the safest place to talk and because Shizuru was still giving Kuwabara a hard time. The carrot-top still looks haunted by Koenma's news but has pulled himself together enough to help out the others. What he really wants to do is find the three-foot-tall midget and demand to know why he would slaughter a helpless innocent. 'There were other options, dammit! He didn't need to do that!' he thinks, 'Had our roles been reversed, I would have looked into adoption and had the child. That honorless piece of shit!'

His angry musing is interrupted by the telephone. Yusuke picks it up. "Hello Urameshi residence," he says. Kuwabara watches his brown eyes widen for a moment before a grin appears. "So that's where he's hiding? Well, we'll go check it out and see what we can do. No, we won't engage him." Yusuke hangs up the phone. "We have a location on a certain Shinobu Sensui. We're going to say hi to him and find out just why he's hiding in a hotel."

"He's in a hotel?" Kurama asks with a furrowed brow.

"Yes, he's checked in a hotel downtown," Yusuke answers.

"Well, I guess we could…if we don't engage him in battle," the emerald-eyed male answers. Yusuke nods and the four of them silently head out of the house towards their destination.

Ten minutes and four blocks later, they are standing in front of a pretty ritzy hotel.

"Well, at least he's got good taste," Yusuke remarks.

"Do you have a room number?" Kurama asks.

"Yep, Room one-hundred and two. It's on the second floor." The other three merely nod and follow him within. They immediately head for the stairs and walk to the next floor.

"Even numbers are on the right side of the hall," Kurama announces.

"Eventually, we would have figured that out," Yusuke says sarcastically.

"I meant no offense, Yusuke. I was merely stating the obvious," the redhead answers. Yusuke just walks down the hall. The numbers start at ninety so they don't have far to walk. Yusuke stops in front of the door. He cocks his head staring at it curiously.

"Since when do bad guys put 'do not disturb' signs on their doors?" he asks. The others shrug. "Well, unfortunately, he's not getting privacy." With that said, Yusuke after trying the door and finding it locked, kicks it open. It takes the group a minute to realize just what it is they are seeing.

"When the sign says 'do not enter' it normally means DO NOT ENTER!" Shinobu growls from the bed where it is obvious that he's engaged in some fun with Itsuki. The aqua-haired demon looks embarrassed and highly annoyed.

"Yeah, well we don't normally care when it comes down to evil humans who want to destroy the world!" Yusuke answers recovering first, "Why are you here, Sensui?"

"I want to be alone THAT is why!" he snaps as he gently pulls the blankets up over his and his lover's waist. "I haven't gotten even ten minutes alone with my lover. I WANT TO BE ALONE FOR TEN MINUTES WITH ITSUKI! Is that too much to ask?"

Yusuke blinks. "You're not trying to destroy the world?"

"No. Although if I don't get left alone I just might do it out of principle!" he grits out.

"Once you're done whatever it is you're doing, THEN are you going to try to destroy the world?" Kuwabara asks hesitantly.

"Look, all of you. I am NOT here to destroy anything. I have better things to do.

Would you go away because you are really, really vexing me. I have a neglected lover who is feeling unloved and I don't want to deal with nosy spirit detectives who are mistakenly thinking that I am trying to kill them! I want to be alone with Itsuki. Go AWAY! If not, then I might be forced to stand up and come after you."

The thought of a naked Shinobu chasing them, is enough to make them leave rather quickly. Once outside, they stop and three of them look at each other in confusion.

"Did we just have a semi-decent conversation with Sensui that didn't include him telling us how he wanted to end mankind?" Kurama asks.

"Umm, I think so. Man, I am trying to get the image of him naked out of my head," Yusuke answers before shuddering, "That was really, really gross."

Kuwabara isn't paying him any mind. Now that it was obvious that Sensui posed no threat to them, he needed to get some information from a certain midget demon. He would find that bastards phone number and when he did, there would be hell to pay.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Ani is curled up on the couch with a warm cup of tea when the phone rings. He waits to see if someone else will answer it. After four more rings, he picks it up. "Hello?" he asks.

"What the hell is your issue?" Kuwabara's voice comes over the line sharp and angry.

"What are you talking about?" Ani demands.

"How you had the gall to kill an innocent child! Gods, Ani, I thought you were better then that!" Kuwabara yells.

Ani is completely confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid with me! I know you hate me but that is no reason to kill a child over!"

Ani's golden eyes widen and then narrow. "How dare you! I have done no such thing! Don't you ever accuse me of something you have no proof of!"

"Koenma called you and asked."

"The last time Koenma called was to warn my brother to stay away from you!"

"You didn't abort the baby?"

"Abort the…Dear gods, what did Koenma tell you?"

"He told me that you got rid of the child."

"He's a lying piece of shit!"

"So you didn't?"

"No, Kuwabara. I am yet that honorable. I cannot believe you would accuse me of such a thing…you're horrible!" Ani once again bursts into tears and hangs the phone up. Oto is in the room within a few seconds.

"Brother, what happened?" he asks worriedly.

"K-Kuwabara called yelling at me because Koenma told him I'd aborted the child!"

"So Kuwabara found out and Koenma tried to keep the truth from him? Well, that never goes his way…Ani, calm down, you need to pull yourself together before you end up hurt," Oto says. Ani just clutches him and begins to cry harder unable to keep his emotions in check.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Kuwabara sits there for a moment, stunned. Koenma had lied to him? Anger spills through him and he doesn't know what to do. There was no excuse for what he had done. Toying with his emotions was never smart. 'This is the second time I have learned that I've been lied to…and from Ani. Why do they continue to hide important things from me? I can't stand being the last to know about something.' Angry and upset, he picks the phone up and dials Koenma's number. Of course, he gets an ogre. "I need to speak to Koenma," he says.

"I am sorry but Lord Koenma is very busy right now," the ogre responds.

"I don't care. I am going to speak to Koenma or I will march there and make sure he sees me!" Kuwabara answers angrily.

"Who is this?" the ogre inquires.

"Kazuma Kuwabara. I am one of his spirit detectives."

"Hold on just a minute, Kuwabara."

He sits there and waits patiently wondering what he would say to the idiot. Finally, someone clicks over. "Kuwabara, I already got the report about Shinobu from

Yusuke," Koenma tells him.

"I am not calling about that damn report, Koenma. How could you lie to me?" he demands, "How could you make me believe that Ani is heartless enough to get rid of a child when he isn't?"

"How did you find out?"

"I called Ani."

"You found their number?"

"I called your office and asked for it."

"Listen to me; I didn't want you to focus on the fact that you fathered a child on Ani. You have too much going on in your life right now to be concerned with that. Let him raise the child and you just need to forget it ever happened."

That was the wrong thing to say if he didn't want to set Kuwabara off. "How dare you? That is MY child he's having! I don't care that I am a Spirit Detective and a high school student! I have a right to know about this and to be able to make my own decision! You have no right to keep things like this hidden or lie! At this point, Ani is better then you, in my eyes!" He knows that he should be so cruel but he cannot help it. Koenma had really hurt him by lying about Ani getting rid of his child. It was a betrayal that was going to take a while to heal.


	9. Part Eight

Part Eight: Anger, Confusion, and a Confrontation

Hours later, Kuwabara is still furious. He has refused to even speak to Yusuke about this and has taken to keeping in his room. His fist connects with the wall again. "Bastard!" he grits out, "Why can't anyone ever be HONEST when it counts?"

"Kazuma, stop hitting the wall!" Shizuru yells up the stairs.

"Mind your own business!" he snaps back. Anger spirals through him and he doesn't quite know what to do about it. It had hurt when the others hadn't told them about Genkai's death but this…this was personal. He sinks down to the floor and presses his head against the wall. Why couldn't Koenma be honest with him? Why was he trying so hard to keep this away from him? He wishes he knew the answer to this. Downstairs the phone rings and Kuwabara wonders who is trying to get him to talk THIS time.

"Kazuma, it's for you," Shizuru calls.

"Tell them I'm not here!" he yells.

"Take the damn phone call, Kazuma!" his sister shouts up the stairs, "and quit acting like such a child. I don't know what it is you think that toddler's done, but you need to grow up!"

Kuwabara grits his teeth but he picks the phone up. "Hello?"

"Kuwabara," Kurama says softly.

"I don't want to talk to you, Kurama."

"Don't hang up…please. Listen to me, I know that you are angry with Koenma and you have every right to be. I just don't want you to do something you'll regret in your anger. Give yourself time to calm down and think rationally about this. He never should have lied to you about this but that is irrelevant at this point."

"I haven't tried to kill him yet have I?"

"Well, no."

"There you have it. I haven't done anything stupid yet."

"Keep it that way, Kuwabara, please."

"I'm not making any promises. He truly pissed me off."

"I can tell. Give yourself time, okay?"

"Fine."

"We're worried about you."

"Right, the only one who isn't is Hiei. I know."

"He's worried, Kuwabara, he just doesn't like admitting that he's fond of you."

"He's NOT fond of me."

Kurama chuckles. "You keep thinking that. Just remember what I said."

"Yeah, all right. Bye."

"Bye."

Kuwabara hangs up and sighs. Leave it to Kurama to be the sensible one. He looks up at the ceiling and sighs. There had to be something he could do other then sit there and be angry at Koenma. Anything was better then that.

It takes Ani three hours before he'll calm down and then he goes off in a fit of rage. "I don't know which is worse, his tears or his anger," Karasu says dodging various projectiles being flung around the room. Oto sidesteps a steak knife.

"I think I preferred his tears. They were less damaging," he answers. Karasu narrowly avoids being skewered by a butcher knife and takes cover under the table to wait him out. Hopefully, this fit wouldn't last too long.

Thirty minutes later, the projectiles stop and Ani sits down on the couch quietly. "Feeling better?" Oto asks.

"No," Ani answers. He doesn't apologize to them, but they expected that and let him keep what little pride he could. They knew it was hard enough for him to deal with the damn mood swings.

Not two hours pass before the phone rings. This time, Oto gets it. "Hello?" he asks. Ani watches his muscles tense slightly and wonders who it is. Within a few minutes of listening, he slams the phone down.

"Brother?" Ani asks. Oto doesn't answer. "Who was it, Oto?"

"No one, Ani," Oto responds.

"Don't lie to me. Who was on the phone?"

Oto sighs and his shoulders slump. "It was Koenma. He wasn't too happy with Kuwabara ignoring him and seems to think somehow, it's your fault because you HAVEN'T aborted the child."

"He needs to get over himself. I am keeping this child whether he likes it or not."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you keeping the child? Everyone knows that you hate Kuwabara."

"Because I am."

"You aren't going to say anything more are you?"

"No."

Oto doesn't push him as he doesn't want to deal with more flying objects. Ani walks over to the window and hops up onto the sill. He stares out into a dark forest of demon world. 'I can't seem to find any desire to harm this child, but that's not what perplexes me most. What I am most concerned with is my reasons for not doing so. I don't want to get rid of the child for the same reason I SHOULD get rid of it, because it is Kuwabara's. I just wish I knew why I felt this way,' he thinks.

He sits there, undisturbed, for two hours. It is the doorbell that pulls him from his solitude. Slowly, he lowers himself back to the floor and walks to the door. He turns the door and opens it. For a moment, he just stands there and just stares at the figure. "K-Kuwabara," he says softly. The carrot-top looks at him silently for a moment.

"Hello, Ani," the human says, "May I come in?"

"How the hell did you find us?" he asks looking confused.

"I am a Spirit Detective. We're supposed to know where our enemies live," Kuwabara answers, "So, may come in?"

"Umm…well…"

"Sure, come in," Oto says from behind him, "as long as you don't upset my brother. We've already had sharp knives thrown at us today."

"Sharp knives?" Kuwabara asks faintly.

"Yeah, that was AFTER he got done crying because of YOU," Karasu says.

"Oh, sorry about that."

"You should be," Bui grumbles. Ani, seeing him, burst into yet another crying fit and runs from the room.

"What the hell did you do?" Oto snaps. Bui looks startled.

"I didn't do ANYTHING!" he responds.

"I'll go get Ani, you keep the blue-haired moron from your brother and be hospitable to Kuwabara," Karasu says before disappearing out of sight.

"What was that?" Kuwabara asks.

"A mood swing," Oto answers.

"This soon?"

"Well, Ani's male so I don't think that he's going to follow the normal symptoms for a woman."

Kuwabara shakes his head. "Have you called and asked?"

"No."

"You might want to."

"That is a priority. He's just been so moody today so not much has gotten done."

"Again, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset him."

"It's not your fault. Koenma is an idiot and needs to learn that honesty is the best of policies. Well, come on, let's go into the living room. It's a bit warmer though be careful and watch where you step. I am not sure got all the sharp knives." Kuwabara nods and follows him into the living room. Bui, disappears outside obviously to avoid making Ani any more hysterical and get him beaten up by Oto…again.

A few minutes later, Karasu and Ani join them in the room. Ani doesn't look at Kuwabara and goes and sits back on the windowsill. "Everything all right?" Oto asks Karasu.

"As well as he can be…I guess. He's upset and embarrassed so he's trying to get a handle on his emotions and having very little success," Karasu answers.

"You two stay here with him. I am going to go call the demons who saw him and see what they say. If Bui comes in, keep him away from my brother," Oto says sternly before disappearing out of the room. Karasu looks at Kuwabara.

"Does Koenma know you're here?" he asks.

"No and I don't really care what his opinion of me being here is. He lost that right when he lied to me."

"Have you spoken to him at all?"

"No, the only one I've actually talked to is Kurama. I won't talk to Yusuke and Hiei and I don't see eye-to-eye on anything."

"How is Kurama?"

"He's fine. He still gets mobbed by every girl at his school. He is just too polite to tell them to go away."

"That's Kurama."

"Yeah. I'm surprised you haven't gone after him, to be frankly honest."

"No, I'm too worried about Ani. Bui can't be decent to save his soul and Oto is not too enamored of him having this child."

"I can hear you two, you do realize this right?" Ani asks.

"We never thought you couldn't," Kuwabara answers.

"Why are you here, Kuwabara?"

"Honestly? I wanted to see you."

"Why?"

"I wanted to check and make sure you were okay and apologize for accusing you without proof."

"You trust Koenma. You had no reason to think he was lying."

"Well, it's not the first time someone has lied to me."

"You shouldn't be so suspicious all the time. That sort of paranoia is not good for you." Kuwabara smiles slightly.

"You still have a sense of humor."

"That has yet to leave."

"Probably to your benefit." Ani turns to face him and Kuwabara realizes that he is almost. He finds himself grinning in return. At least, for now, Ani is calm.


	10. Part Nine

Part Nine: Kidnapped

Kuwabara leaves that evening and returns home. Once he's arrived, he finds that the other three detectives are waiting for him. "Where have you been?" Yusuke demands, "We've been looking for you all day."

"I've been with Ani," Kuwabara answers without thinking about the consequences of such an admission.

"You were WHAT!" Yusuke yells. Kuwabara cringes at the accusatory tone.

"I went to visit Ani," Kuwabara repeats steeling himself for the coming confrontation.

"Why the HELL would you go and see him?"

"Because I needed to apologize."

"You don't need to apologize to that...thing!"

"Excuse me? Excuse me! What gives you the damn right to criticize and insult him?"

Yusuke stares at him in shock. "Why the hell are you defending him?"

"Because I can! Leave him alone, Yusuke, or I WILL hurt you!"

"What the fuck did he do to you while you were there? You would NEVER defend him under normal circumstances!"

"These are NOT normal circumstances, Yusuke! He's pregnant with MY child! I think that I have a reason to want to check up on him."

"Yusuke, leave Kuwabara alone," Kurama cuts in, "He's told us where he was so let it go."

"I don't think Koenma would appreciate the knowledge that he went and made a social call to the Toguro Brothers."

"I don't care what he thinks, Urameshi. He has no right to tell me what I can or cannot do…not anymore."

"How can you honestly say that?"

"He LIED to me! He deliberately LIED to me! I can't forgive that easily."

"Get over it. He had to do what was necessary to keep your mind straight. Give him credit for seeing the big picture."

"No, he had no right to blatantly lie to my face because he seems to think that it will make me more able to do my job. I have every right to be furious just as I have every right to check on Ani because he's pregnant."

"Please, what's so special about a pregnant male?"

"Only that maybe four have ever become pregnant and none of them lived through the nine months."

"Well, at least you won't have to deal with him anymore."

"Would you stop seeing him as our enemy for a moment? I am being serious. Only four have ever become pregnant and they have DIED. I don't particularly want this to happen to Ani."

"You're acting like you care about him!"

Kuwabara grits his teeth before he makes an admission that he has been trying to avoid even thinking about. "That's because…I DO care about him."

"What!"

"Never mind, Yusuke. Just go away. I'm tired and I want to lie down."

"No, you are going to tell me what you just said!"

"Not today. Go away and leave me alone. I'm tired and I don't want to deal with you." Without waiting for a response, he walks around his friend and heads for the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Yusuke come after him and braces himself. The dark haired demon grabs him by his shoulder and spins him around.

"You WILL answer me or things will get very ugly!"

"Are you threatening me?"

"Yes."

"Yusuke, leave him alone!" Kurama snaps angrily. His green eyes are now flecked with gold and his demon-side is wanting out.

"Mind your own business, Kurama!" Yusuke snaps back at him, "This has nothing to do with you!"

"Kuwabara is old enough to make his OWN decisions! You need to respect them and leave him alone!"

"He went to see ANI TOGURO!"

"I know who Ani is, Yusuke."

"How can you condone him going there and seeing him?"

"He has every right to see the one who's carrying his child and you have NO right to stop him."

While they are arguing, Kuwabara slips out of Yusuke's grasp and heads inside. He locks the door for good measure and heads into his room. He feels the beginnings of a headache. 'Great, I just told Yusuke that I care for Ani. What the hell was I thinking?' he wonders. He cannot believe he just admitted to caring for an enemy that caused him the most trouble. He sits down on his bed and lets out a soft, mournful sigh. Why did this have to become so complicated?

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­---------------------------------------------------------------------

After dinner, Ani decides he needs some fresh air and heads outside. He takes a deep breath outside and tries to calm down. This pregnancy was more difficult then any trial he had faced and he doesn't know if he can last through it. Sighing, he walks around the pond and sits on a rock. 'What am I doing?' he wonders to himself, 'Why am I wanting to keep this child when it is the offspring of the one person in the universe that I CANNOT stand?' He has no answer for himself and that makes it even more difficult. He sighs and stares into the pond. Nothing made sense anymore. Though, in all honesty, life had NEVER made sense to him.

Soon, he realizes that he is not alone and looks around. Two demons observe him coolly from a distance. "Do you need something, gentlemen?" Ani inquires. Something in him warns Ani to run but he doesn't. He starts to really wonder when the demons look at him unpleasantly. Warnings go off in his mind and he decides that getting them away might just be the best course of action but when he tries to use his spirit energy…it doesn't work. Startled, he looks down at his hands wondering why the hell his energy won't work. While he hesitates, both demons approach. He doesn't notice until they are standing right in front of him. "What do you want?" he demands.

"You," one of the demons answers before the other presses a cloth over his nose and mouth. Startled, Ani doesn't struggle and by the time he realizes the danger, the chloroform takes affect and he passes out.

Hours pass and when Ani doesn't return, Karasu begins to get worried. He walks to the window and looks outside. "Has he come back in yet?" Oto inquires. Karasu shakes his head. "Where is he? He should be back by now."

"He's probably throwing stones in the pond outside," Bui remarks, "I would go and check but he'd run off crying if he saw me."

"Yeah, well you DID upset him."

"How was I supposed to know that he'd have a major mood swing? I've never dealt with a pregnant female let alone a pregnant male."

"You could have been a little less insultive. My brother does his best to be kind to you."

"Yeah, I'm sure he does."

"Don't be snide."

Karasu rolls his eyes. "If you two want to continue this delightful conversation, go right ahead. I am going to go outside and find Ani," he interjects before heading out of the room. 'Those two can be so immature sometimes,' he thinks as he walks. He comes upon the pond but doesn't find Ani. He looks around to see if the smaller demon was curled up between any of the rocks nearby. After a few feet, he notices a white rag. Curious, he leans down and picks it up. He immediately smells the chloroform and his heart almost stops. He turns and races back inside. "Oto, we have a problem!" he yells. The burly demon comes quickly to him.

"What?" he asks.

"I didn't find Ani, but I did find this," Karasu answers holding out the rag to him. Oto looks at it and then looks back at Karasu and even through his thick lenses; it's obvious he's startled.

"Someone took my brother?" he asks.

"I believe so," Karasu answers almost dreading the burly demon's reaction. Oto's fist clenches and his shoulders tense.

"When I find out who is responsible for this I am going to kill them," he growls.

"We should call Kuwabara. He has a right to know about this," Karasu remarks, "better, yet, let ME call Kuwabara." Without waiting for a response, he heads to the phone and picks it up. Hopefully, the Spirit Detectives could help find Ani. He dials Kuwabara's number and waits.

"Hello?" It is Shizuru.

"Hello, is Kuwabara there?" he asks.

"Yeah, just a minute. Kazuma!"

A few minutes pass before someone picks up the phone. "Hello?" Kuwabara asks.

"Kuwabara, it's Karasu."

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes, we have reason to believe that someone's taken Ani."

For a moment there is nothing but silence but just when Karasu's feared the carrot-top has hung up, he speaks. "How sure are you?"

"Well, we can't find him and I found a rag with chloroform by the pond where Ani normally goes when he wants to be alone."

"Damn!"

"Will you help us find him?"

"You had better believe it. No one is going to get away with this. He's pregnant! You shouldn't use chloroform on a pregnant person!"

"That is definitely a concern at this point. Do you think you could call Koenma and see if he will help you find him."

Once again there is silence and the violet-eyed demon is afraid he was pushing too far. "I guess…for Ani's sake."

"Thank you. We'll keep looking here."

"We'll find him, Karasu, and whoever took him had better not hurt him or they will be dead!"

"I believe it. Call Koenma and see what you can find."

"All right, I will."

After Kuwabara hangs up, Karasu sighs. Something warns him that things were only going to get worse. 'Why would someone want to kidnap Ani? Do they know he's pregnant? That can't be the only ones who know are the spirit detectives, Koenma, and Oto, Ani, Bui, and I. This doesn't make sense,' he thinks. Deep down, however, he has a suspicion about who, out of the list of people who knew, MIGHT want Ani. 'Let me be wrong…please let me be wrong.'


	11. Part Ten

Part Ten: Realizations and Harsh Revelations

The minute Kuwabara returns home, he calls Koenma. A knot forms in the pit of his stomach and he doesn't know why. Nervous and twitching, he waits for someone to pick up. No one does. Kuwabara becomes suspicious when there is no answer. Surely one of the ogres should have taken the call. 'Unless Koenma knows that you are calling and doesn't want to answer,' a voice in the back of his mind comments. Highly disturbed by this thought, he hangs up the phone and waits a few minutes to try again. There was no need to jump to conclusions. Again, the same thing happens and he becomes agitated and frustrated. Something isn't adding up and he desperately hopes it's not because Koenma has something to do with the disappearance of Ani.

The phone rings and Kuwabara picks it up. "Hello?" he asks.

"Did you reach him?" Karasu inquires.

"No, no one picked up. I tried twice."

"That is odd."

"Yes. Normally one of the ogres will pick up. I don't like this, Karasu."

"Why don't you try and see if Kurama will try to call Koenma. Maybe no one is there."

"What if he gets someone?"

"Then we'll know who's responsible for having Ani won't we?"

"You think it's him, don't you?"

"Yes."

"I hope for not only our sake, but Ani's as well, that you are wrong."

"You fear me being right, don't you?"

"More then I can say."

"Call Kurama and see. Whatever you find out, call me back. Oto is beginning to panic."

"I will." Kuwabara hears Karasu hang up and sighs before hanging it up for a few seconds and then picking it back up. He dials Kurama's number and then waits.

"Hello, Minamino residence," Kurama says.

"Kurama, could you do a favor for me?" he asks.

"What do you need, Kuwabara?"

"I need you to call Koenma just to see if anyone picks up."

"Why?"

"I don't want to say right now. Please, just do this for me?"

"Okay, it's an odd request but I'll do it. Hang on."

Hearing Kurama click over is the hardest thing he's ever had to do. He has no idea how he's going to deal with things if Kurama actually gets someone. 'Please click back over and say no one picked up, please,' he thinks. "Kuwabara?" Kurama asks.

"Yeah, I'm still here. So?"

"Other then having to come up with an excuse as to why I was calling, nothing is strange."

"So someone picked up?"

"Yes…were you not expecting them to?"

"No."

"Is there something going on?"

"I can't answer that right now, Kurama. Thank you for checking." He hangs up before Kurama can respond. Putting the phone down, he finds himself becoming extremely panicked. If Koenma was behind this then there was little either he or Karasu can do. True to his word, however, Kuwabara calls the violet-eyed demon back.

"Did he get anyone?" Karasu asks.

"Yes."

"Then Koenma's the one responsible."

"That doesn't make any sense, Karasu! Why would Koenma want Ani kidnapped?"

"I think the bigger question isn't why he would want him kidnapped but why, if he knows Ani is pregnant, would he use chloroform as a way to knock him out? That could have seriously harmful affects on his child."

"You don't think he's trying to kill the child do you?"

"I think we've found the reason that those other four died before their children were born. Someone doesn't want a child born from two males. Why?"

"We can figure that out AFTER we find Ani."

"True enough."

"I just wish I knew where to start."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ani wakes up rather disoriented and confused. His golden eyes blink open and he finds himself lying on the cold ground of a barren cell. Wincing, he slowly sits up. Looking around, he wonders why he is in this sort of predicament and then the truth reveals itself. He had been outside by the pond trying to relax and these two demons had come out from the woods and using chloroform, had subdued him. His hand instinctively goes to his stomach and he hopes that his child is unharmed. He couldn't bear the thought of having his child die because he hadn't been able to protect them. He slowly sits up and pulls his knees close. Why would someone take the time to kidnap him? What good did they hope to accomplish by this?

Footsteps approach the cell and he watches the hallway warily wondering if one of his captors had decided to make an appearance. "Oh, you're awake. For awhile we thought you'd had an averse reaction to the chloroform," a strange demon comments from outside his cell.

"What do you want from me?" Ani demands trying to sound calmer then he felt. The demon smiles unpleasantly.

"They merely want you to die," he answers seemingly indifferent about the whole situation.

"Who's they?"

"King Yama and his son," the demon answers. Now Ani is really confused.

"Koenma and his father want me dead? Why?"

"Because you pose too much of a threat…well, your child anyway," a familiar voice comments. Ani watches as Koenma walks into view.

"How does my child pose a threat to you?"

"It is well known that a child conceived by two males is exceptionally powerful and with your background…well, I don't want to chance your child ending up as a criminal. It's best to end it here and now."

"You killed the other four for the same reason?"

"Yes. They were rather dangerous and had a penchant for causing trouble. Their children would probably have been the same way. I regret to reveal that most of their deaths were caused by other demons I hired to help. A good example is Kuronue. He was a demon thief and partner to Yoko. They were the Makai's most feared partners in crime. However, Kuronue never told Yoko that he had become pregnant with the fox-demon's child. When I found out, I hatched a plot that in the end killed off Kuronue before Yoko ever realized he would have had children."

Ani is sickened by this story. "You have no right to judge the children for their parents. Isn't the fact that this child is Kuwabara's also enough make you reconsider?" Ani pulls at any straw that he can possibly find to protect his unborn child though he knows he has little success.

"Kuwabara's turning into a demon. I have no way of knowing how he'll end up after his transformation is complete."

Ani gets a little angry at that statement. "Surely you know Kuwabara better then that! Even I know that no matter the circumstances, Kazuma would NEVER change his honor code! Even if he IS turning into a demon, nothing will change."

"I don't have a one hundred percent guarantee of that, do I? I am not about to stake the fate of all the worlds unless I know for certain that this child will NOT end up trying to destroy everything we hold dear."

Ani grits his teeth and swallows the angry words just waiting to burst out. He cannot believe that Koenma would be this heartless. He should know better then to just casually make this sort of decision. This was the life of an innocent whose only crime was being born of his blood. "You can't do this, Koenma. Somehow, my brother will find out and you WILL be stopped!"

"You put too much faith in your sibling. Do you honestly think he cares? I bet he believes that you should get rid of that child. I don't think he wants you to keep it."

"My brother will accept my decision and be fine with it!"

"You don't sound so sure of yourself."

"I am sure!"

"Are you really?"

"I don't have to explain myself to someone like you! My brother will come and you WILL be sorry you ever attempted this!" Koenma just laughs at him and Ani begins to feel the first wave of panic flood him. What if the prince was right? What if Oto wasn't going to try to find him? What if he truly was being abandoned? He has no answers for his questions and that makes him even more upset.

"You think about what I've told you, Ani. The next time I come here will be to watch you die," Koenma tells him in a falsely pleasant tone before the prince turns and saunters off down the hallway. Ani just sits there looking a cross between shocked and upset. He doesn't know what to do and is in a strange place with no one he really knows. Once again, his hormones swing wildly out of control and he begins to cry.

"Please, please don't leave me here," he whispers pulling his knees tightly to his chest and pressing his forehead to his knees, "Please, someone come save me."


	12. Part Eleven

Part Eleven: A New Ally and a Forced Confession

Karasu hangs up the phone and sees Oto looking at him. "So?" he asks. The violet-eyed demon hesitates to answer him. "Karasu." The warning in the burly demon's voice tells Karasu that he had better give him a response.

Kuwabara couldn't reach anyone at Koenma's office but Kurama did," Karasu admits worrying about the burly demon's reaction to such information.

"You think Koenma is behind this?" Oto demands.

"Yes," he answers hesitantly. He watches Oto's eyes widen from behind his sunglasses.

"Why would he want to take my brother?"

"We don't know, Oto, but we WILL find him. Koenma will NOT get away with this!"

"Why do I have a feeling that it is going to take an incredibly suicidal stunt to save that pregnant midget?" Bui asks.

"Because more than likely, it will," Karasu tells him still watching Oto. The burly demon looks as if he's going to start hyperventilating and Karasu knows that this is NOT going to be a pleasant scene if he does.

"Why are we going after Ani again? Couldn't we just leave the midget there?"

Karasu cringes. "Now you've done it. Oto is going to kill you." He doesn't get finished with that sentence before Oto charges at Bui. The violet-eyed demon decides that he should get outside before the walls start falling. Walking outside, he sees Kuwabara heading up the path. "You don't want to go in there," he says walking up to the carrot-top who looks at him in confusion. "Bui said something incredibly stupid and Oto is inside beating him up."

"I am guessing he said something about Ani didn't he?" Kuwabara asks.

"Yes," Karasu answers. The carrot-top shakes his head. Didn't that demon EVER learn?

"I am worried about him," Kuwabara says softly, looking into the distance, "I don't have a good feeling about why Koenma would want him kidnapped."

"In all honesty, neither do I," Karasu answers him. He takes a moment to look at the youth. Kuwabara hadn't changed much since he'd last seen him at the Dark Tournament…not physically anyway. The youth looked stronger though and he certainly felt that way as well, though Karasu doesn't know why he senses a demon aura around the boy. He doesn't think it prudent to worry the Detective more then he obviously was. Thought the fact that he is worried about Ani makes him wonder just what the youth's feelings were about the smaller demon but he doesn't ask. There were more pressing matters to deal with without him trying to figure out Kuwabara's intentions.

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Ani doesn't know how long he's left there on the floor of the cell. Koenma hadn't been decent enough to leave a cot but that doesn't surprise the golden-eyed demon. The prince had revealed that he wants him dead and he is still trying to come to terms with the realization that he had killed four others because they were pregnant as well. 'You're thinking to much,' he mentally berates himself, 'You need to try and figure out how to get out of here not worrying about the fate of other demons who are of no consequence to you.' He finds it hard to accomplish this as he is sure he's heard of Kuronue before. He just wishes he knew where he had heard THAT name…wait, he had said YOKO! A sick feeling twists in his stomach as he realizes that Koenma had been responsible for the death of someone dear to the fox-demon. 'Have you any idea what he will do if he finds out YOU killed his lover, Koenma?' he wonders. It would probably be a sight no one would want to be privy to.

Footsteps approach and Ani wonders if Koenma was finally ready to kill him. He watches and is surprised that it is the other demon that helped kidnap him. He watches the male warily wondering what he wanted. He silently observes Ani from the doorway of the cell. "Do you need something?" the smaller demon demands.

"That cannot be comfortable," the stranger comments. Ani doesn't answer. "He's incorrect, you know."

"Who?" Ani inquires suddenly curious.

"Koenma. He thinks he's getting rid of ONE child…that's not true," the demon answers. Ani looks at him. "You're having triplets," the demon says answering Ani's unspoken question. He watches as Ani's eyes widen.

"T-triplets?" the smaller demon whispers.

"Yes, triplets. Two boys and a girl."

Ani stares at him. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you need to take precautions. Having ONE child is hard enough but three…you are going to have a wonderful time trying to keep your hormones in check."

"I fail to see how that matters now. I am going to DIE!"

The demon snickers. "No, no you're not."

"How do you know?"

The demon merely reaches into his pocket and pulls out a phone. "What's your number?"

"I fail to see what good my number will do y…wait, what are you doing?"

"I want to call your brother. I am sure he'd like directions to where you are, don't you think?"

"You actually expect me to believe that you are going to call my brother and lead him here?"

"What's your number? We don't have much time. Koenma's plotting how best to kill you." Ani sighs but complies. The demon punches in the number and Ani watches him wondering if he was being honest about helping him. "Hello, is this Oto? No, you don't know me but you do know an…acquaintance of mine. He's about three feet tall with golden-eyes and more mood swings then necessary. Hey, I am not threatening your brother! I am calling to tell you WHERE he is and HOW to get here but if you don't want my help…ah, so you ARE going to see things my way? Good. Yes, you can talk to him AFTER I tell you how to get here…jeez, you are really paranoid."

Ani is staring at the demon in shock. Why in the world was he helping him? What could this demon get from doing this? He's brought out of his musings as the demon squeezes his shoulder. He looks up and sees that he's holding the phone out to him. Cautiously, he takes it. "Hello?" he asks.

"Ani!" Oto exclaims.

Ani's eyes fill with tears. "H-hello, brother," he whispers clutching the phone tightly.

"Are you all right?"

"For having my life threatened…yes."

"I am going to kill that idiot."

"No, that is Yoko's place, not yours."

"Do I even want to know why you just said that?"

"Bring Kurama with you when you come. He needs to hear something…he's not going to be happy but he needs to hear it."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Please bring him, brother."

"All right. We'll be there as soon as we can…I promise."

"Thank you."

The demon takes the phone gently from Ani. "You have a little less than two hours to get your friend and get here. I will stall for as long as I can but I cannot guarantee that it will work. No, there is no reason to thank me and my reasons are my own. Just come here and get your brother. There is a LOT I need to discuss with you." He turns the phone off and looks at Ani. "Everything will be all right. They'll be here, don't worry."

"Why, why are you doing this?" Ani asks. The demon gives a soft, sad smile.

"Personal reasons I'd rather not get into. I don't approve of what he does but it is not my place to judge someone of such high standing."

"Well, can I at least have your name?"

The demon smiles sadly again. "There is no need for that. I will be out of your life shortly. You don't need to spend the rest of your life worrying about a demon that was partially responsible for almost killing you. I'll also give you another word of advice. Don't return to that hospital you went to. They are good doctors but Koenma has made it quite clear that he is to be notified if a male demon comes in pregnant. They won't disobey him. You need to find a demon that specializes in healing to come to where you are."

"Well, Koenma knows where we live."

"You'll have to move."

"You're kidding!"

"No, no I am not. If you don't want him to find and kill you and your unborn children, you had best start over somewhere he doesn't know you'll be. All you have to do is wait long enough for your triplets to be born. Then, no matter what his personal opinion is, they can't be touched."

"Why not?"

"Because it is a sin to kill an innocent child."

"They already are!"

"That's not how Koenma and King Yama see it. Trust me on this, Ani. I know. Until the child is born, it is considered not a person yet and can be killed. You must hide from him until that day comes."

Something clicks into place. "One of the demons killed was your lover wasn't he?" he asks.

The demon smiles sadly. "Yes. He was one of the first ones killed. Koenma had found out when my lover was eight and a half months pregnant. I watched helplessly as he took from me the only ones who made my life worth living. I vowed that after THAT day, I would do all I could to try and keep it from happening again. I've met with little success…until now."

"You know that Koenma won't take well to you betraying him."

"Yes, but I don't care…not anymore."

"How do you know that I am having triplets?"

"Because I can sense their spirit energies."

"This soon?"

"Yes."

Ani looks impressed. The demon merely smiles softly before his head turns towards the hallway. Ani watches his eyes widen. "So, all along you've been on HIS side," Koenma comments stepping out of the darkened hallway. The demon swallows. "I should have guessed you would be. You have never forgiven me for killing your lover."

"This is wrong, Koenma! These children are innocent!" the demon argues.

"These children?" Koenma asks, "There are more then one?"

The demon looks as if he could kick himself. "There are three."

"He's having triplets?" Koenma looks shocked.

"Yes, he's having triplets."

"That just makes this even more impertinent that they are never born."

"Koenma, don't do this. They are innocent!"

"Forget it. He won't listen to reason," Ani says softly, "I only wonder if he's doing this because he's concerned for the welfare of everyone or out of punishment to those who have done something wrong."

"What are you implying, Toguro?" Koenma demands.

"The ones you have killed have all been criminals. It makes one wonder if this is how you punished them," he answers. He sees Koenma's eyes narrow.

"How dare you think that?" he demands.

"Well, that is the only reason I can think of. Tell me, was that the reason you killed Kuronue?"

"What are you doing?" the demon hisses. Ani ignores him and continues to look at Koenma.

"Kuronue was a danger to the Makai. Something had to be done."

"So you had him killed? Boy, I wonder what would happen if someone like Kurama found that out?"

"He's never going to discover this."

"Really now?" a voice hisses from the doorway behind them. Startled Koenma turns around to see four very pissed off males and in front…Kurama. "YOU killed Kuronue?"

"K-Kurama!" the prince stammers.

Ani smirks. "Oops," he says with a sly smile.


	13. Part Twelve

Part Twelve: Home at Last and A Surprising Event

The demon looks at Ani in shock. "How did you know they were here?" he whispers.

"I sensed my brother. It doesn't matter if I'm warded, I know when he is close," Ani murmurs thoroughly enjoying the frightened look on Koenma's face as Kurama glares at him. It served the idiot right. He should leave things that didn't concern Spirit World alone meaning that he should keep out of the demon world, which he had obviously not learned how to do yet.

"Why?" Kurama grits out, "Why would you hurt him?"

"He was pregnant," Koenma answers still trying to retain some composure…and failing miserably. The redhead's green eyes flash angrily and in a few moments, the normally placid Kurama has been replaced with a fuming fox-demon.

"You had no right!" Yoko snarls, "I don't care what your excuse is, you had no right to kill him!"

Koenma seems to realize the danger he is in as he faces an extremely infuriated fox that happened to be an A-class demon. He swallows nervously and looks around seemingly trying to find a way out. There is none. "I think you had better start giving us a good reason as to why we shouldn't kill you on the spot," Oto says slowly walking closer, "I am pretty sure Yoko wants to see you dead for this and I…well, I am not too pleased that you kidnapped my brother with an intent to kill him."

"So, do you have a reason that I shouldn't just end your life?" Yoko snarls as his

rosewhip unfurls at his side. His golden eyes show no mercy and Koenma knows that if he doesn't think fast, he's going to die.

"I-I can't bring them back, Yoko," Koenma whispers, "I know that is what you want to hear but I cannot bring them back…unless due to special circumstances. That is my father's rule."

"Then you can at least stay out of the Makai, toddler. You are prince of Spirit World so stay out of ours," Yoko hisses, "and leave my friends and their families alone."

Koenma looks like he's about to protest but the look on the silver-haired kitsune's face is enough to make him silent. He merely nods his head. "Good, now get out of my sight!" Needing no further prodding, he runs for his life. Yoko reverts back to Shuichi.

The redhead looks mournful. "So it was him all along?" he asks.

"Yes," Ani says softly. Kurama shakes his head.

"Well, now that you're here I need to talk to you," the demon says slowly helping Ani up, "He's pregnant with triplets so you're all going to have to tread very carefully.

Within the next few weeks his mood-swings are going to get really, really, nasty so be warned that anything he can throw…he will."

"Triplets?" Kuwabara asks sounding just like Ani had when he'd been told.

"Yes, triplets. Two boys and a girl," the demon answers. The carrot-top manages a slight smile.

"Well, that is going to make things interesting," Karasu comments.

"No one asked you, crow," Ani huffs. The violet-eyed demon grins.

"Shall we leave or would you like to see how long it takes for Ani to catch a chill down here?" the demon interjects.

"Let's go," Oto says before walking passed him and gently picking Ani up. The shorter demon rests his head against his shoulder.

"Why isn't Bui here?" he asks.

"He's probably still unconscious," Oto answers, "And because you seem to not like him around."

"He called me a midget freak. That wasn't nice," Ani huffs. Oto just chuckles. "Don't laugh at me!"

"I wasn't laughing at you, brother."

"Yes you were!"

"No, no I wasn't."

Kuwabara smiles as he watches Ani and Oto bicker back and forth. He is glad that the smaller demon is safe. He turns to see that the demon who had been right next to Ani is no where to be found. "Hey, where did that demon go?" he asks. Ani looks at him.

"He told me that he would leave. It's all right," the golden-eyed demon answers.

Kuwabara merely shrugs and decides to trust Ani.

"Hopefully that is the end of this," the carrot-top mutters once they get back to

Toguro's home, "I am not going to be happy if he doesn't keep his word and Ani disappears again."

"None of us will," Oto remarks. Kuwabara nods and turns to leave.

"Kuwabara, could you stay…just for a little while?" Ani asks softly. That stops him in his tracks and he turns around. The smaller demon gives him a timid smile. "Please?"

Kuwabara's heart melts.

"All right, I guess I could," he consents, "Do you mind telling Yusuke that I am not to be bothered, Kurama?"

"Of course," the redhead answers before smiling at him, "Congratulations. May I suggest that you DON'T tell Shizuru?" Kuwabara chuckles.

"That would definitely not be a good thing to do at this moment."

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Kurama heads into the Ningenkai and towards his home with a heavy heart. 'So, you knew he would lose the pendant and go after it…you planned on it. I cannot believe you. He was everything to me,' he thinks. Tears fill his green eyes and he tries valiantly to blink them away, 'I am so sorry, Kuronue.' "Fox, did everything go all right?" a familiar voice inquires. Kurama looks up at Hiei who is leaning against a tree.

"Yes, Ani is back where he belongs," he answers.

"Why did you have to go?" Hiei asks. Kurama doesn't feel like bringing up painful memories but Hiei was a dear friend and even if he didn't show it, the fire-demon cared.

"Koenma was responsible for the death of my partner Kuronue. He was pregnant," he answers after a moment, "He said that Kuronue can only be returned by special circumstances."

The fire-demon hears the sad, wistful quality to the redhead's tone and decides to do something about it. Kurama had done so much for him that it was high time that he returned the favor. He has yet to reveal to the others that he still has his wish from the Dark Tournament. He'd been saving it for a special occasion and decides that this was that time. He heads deeper into the forest so as to not be disturbed or overheard. He opens a small communicator Koenma had given him until he made his wish. He opens it and waits. It takes a few minutes for Koenma to respond. "Yes, Hiei?" the prince inquires.

"I am ready to make that wish," Hiei says simply.

"Very well, what is your wish?"

"I wish for you to return Kuronue to life as he had been before he was killed."

He almost smiles seeing the shocked look on the toddler's face.

"Are you sure?"

"Would I have said it if I wasn't?"

"No. Very well, your wish shall be granted…so help us all."

Hiei closes the communicator, which immediately disappears and smiles…a true, happy smile. "You're welcome, fox," he murmurs knowing that Koenma wouldn't be stupid enough to tell the redhead that Hiei had been the one to return Kuronue to him.

He hides his emotions back behind the mask he had created over the years to survive a life of isolation and danger. Maybe one day he would show the others the real him…maybe one day.


	14. Part Thirteen

Part Thirteen: Of Sleeping Demons and Restored Pregnant Mates

Kuwabara returns with Oto, Ani and Karasu back to their home in the Makai.

He doesn't know why the smaller demon needs him there but he's not about to complain. He personally doesn't want to see what Oto will do to someone who denies his brother anything. The smaller demon is asleep by the time they arrive, and much to Kuwabara's shock, Oto gently sets him into his arms. "Why don't you go tuck him in?"" the burly demon suggests. Kuwabara looks at him like he's gone mad but decides not to argue with him out of fear of waking up Ani and having the small demon throw a fit.

"It's the second room on the right upstairs," Karasu says softly to him. Kuwabara nods gratefully to him and heads in that direction. He tries not to look down at the sleeping demon in his arms but can't help himself. Staring down, he makes a realization; Ani looked like an angel when sleeping. The peaceful expression on his face belies the damage and evil he's capable of and Kuwabara finds himself smiling softly. Ani was quite…cute when asleep.

He arrives in Ani's room but when he goes to put the smaller demon down on the bed, said sleeping demon murmurs discontentedly and clutches closer to him. Kuwabara sighs softly and tries to extricate himself from Ani but the demon merely snuggles closer. In the end, Kuwabara gives up and lies down with Ani. 'I just hope Oto doesn't see this or I am probably going to end up dead,' he thinks though he can't help the small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he watches Ani sleep with his head against his shoulder. He soon feels drowsy as well and joins Ani in slumber.

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When Koenma summons Kurama, the redhead wonders just what the bastard wanted this time. Hadn't he done enough damage to him to last a lifetime? Gritting his teeth, he struggles to seem calm and pleasant as he heads for the toddler's office all the while craving to strangle the diapered-deity. He takes a deep breath before the doors and forces himself to look amiable before entering. "You called?" he asks walking up towards the desk. He tries his best to keep himself from throttling the idiot.

"Umm, yes. I need you to help a demon that has been recently restored to life.

He's a little bit confused and disoriented…not to mention a tiny-bit sick," Koenma answers.

"I don't do babysitting, Koenma," Kurama answers hotly letting out his irritation at the situation.

"Well, I would have thought you would want to be the one to reacquaint Kuronue to being alive but I can always call Yusuke or Hiei to do the job," Koenma answers.

"Why don't you do that and save m…wait, did you say Kuronue?" Kurama demands.

"Yes, I said Kuronue. He's currently down the hall in the bathroom throwing up.

Morning sickness and all, well you know."

Kurama struggles to get his mind around what he has just been told. Kuronue was alive? He was down the hallway? "I'll do it!" he blurts out. Koenma smiles.

"Good. Now go."

Kurama gets halfway across the room before halting. "I thought you said he couldn't come back unless it was a special circumstance."

"I did. It was a special circumstance and that is all I am going to say on the matter."

Kurama decides that there were more pressing matters to attend to…like say, his lover. "Oh, and Kurama, you might want to revert back to Yoko until you explain about your human form." Kurama wordlessly transforms and all but runs down the hall. 'Kuronue, he's back…my lover is back and pregnant. Oh this is going to be fun,' he thinks. He stops outside the door and listens. He can hear someone coughing and slowly opens the door. He smiles slightly seeing the winged-youkai kneeling in front of the toilet shaking slightly.

"Not feeling so good huh, Kuronue?" he inquires. The sapphire-eyed demon looks up at him.

"Yoko," Kuronue whispers, "it's you."

"Course it is. Who did you think it would be?"

Kuronue smiles mirthlessly. "This is your entire fault you know," he mutters.

"I am sorry. I didn't know you were pregnant."

"No, I should apologize I was just afraid that you would be mad if I told you I was carrying your children."

"Children?"

"Yeah, children. Triplets I think."

"Oh by Inari, not another set!"

"What do you mean?"

"Another male demon is having a set of triplets, too. He's been real delightful to be around so I've heard."

"Oh. Well, are you going to hug me or just stand there looking apologetic?"

Yoko smiles. "Impatient," he whispers fondly as he cradles Kuronue to him.

"That's what you love about me," Kuronue answers cheekily from his shoulder.

Yoko smiles slightly at that comment while pulling him closer to him. He would find out just what had happened to make Koenma return his mate to him, but that could come after he spent time with Kuronue.

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Yusuke is in a sour mood after learning that Kuwabara went home with Ani.

He cannot for the life of him figure why the carrot-top should care about the one demon who gave him the most trouble and caused him the most pain. 'Idiot, don't you dare do something stupid like fall for the demon,' he thinks furiously. It was bad enough that he felt so attached that he had to protect him but Yusuke would never, NEVER forgive him were he to do something as stupid as develop romantic feelings for the midget demon. Something deep down tells Yusuke that Kuwabara WOULD be stupid enough to fall for Ani. 'Prove me wrong, Kuwabara, please. Prove to me that you have more sense then to fall for someone who will never care about you…not really anyway. That midget creep isn't capable of caring about anyone but himself.'


	15. Part Fourteen

Part Fourteen: Helpful Sisters, Argumentative Friends, and A Demon Goes into Labor!

Kuwabara finds it hard to leave Ani's side but he also knows that if he starts skipping school Yusuke will definitely throw a fit. "Ani," he whispers gently shaking him. Ani's golden eyes slowly flutter open.

"Y-you stayed?" the demon murmurs sleepily looking surprised and rather…adorable.

"Yeah, you wouldn't let go of me so I decided that it would be better to just stay put. I would like nothing more then to stay here all warm and comfortable but unfortunately, I have to get to school, which is why I woke you up," Kuwabara answers. Ani yawns and reluctantly lets go of him.

"Will you come back?" he inquires.

"Of course, right after school. You need to take it easy, okay?"

"All right."

Kuwabara attributes Ani's agreement on the fact that the demon was almost asleep again. Smiling, he gets up and tucks the blankets around him. Before leaving, he gives into a temptation and kisses the smaller demon on the forehead. He quietly shuts the door and heads downstairs. "Leaving for school?" Oto inquires.

"As much as I would rather be cuddled by Ani, I don't want Yusuke marching down here and demanding to know why I spent the night. I promised Ani to be back after school so I'll return. Keep a close eye on him. I don't want him kidnapped again…or worse," Kuwabara answers. The burly demon merely nods his head, and Kuwabara leaves the house for the Ningenkai.

He gets back in time to get dressed, eat, and be questioned by Shizuru. "Where were you last night, Kazuma?" she demands finding him finishing breakfast.

"I was out," he answers shortly.

"Where?"

"The Makai."

"Are you seeing a demon?"

"Not really."

"Not really? Kazuma, what have you been doing?"

Her tone broaches no argument and Kuwabara decides to be honest. "I was with Ani, okay? I spent the night because he wouldn't let me leave."

"Ani as in Elder Toguro? Why wouldn't he let you leave?"

"He's pregnant with triplets and was just kidnapped by demons hired by Koenma who wanted him dead. I don't think he wanted to be alone."

"How the hell does a male get pregnant?"

"The same way a female does, through sex."

"How do YOU know this?"

"I was the one who got him pregnant."

"WHAT?"

"You remember the conversation we had about me having to have sex with Ani Toguro? Well, it seems that he got pregnant from that. I am taking responsibility for it and heaven forbid it, but I'm also getting fond of the midget demon. I am going back this afternoon."

"Whoa, wait a minute, baby-brother. YOU got Ani pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Oh…wow. I'm going to be the aunt of the next generation of Toguros?"

"It seems so…you're not going to kick me out now are you?"

"No. Can I come with you after school? I remember how mom was when she was pregnant with you. Maybe I can help Ani out."

Kuwabara looks at her in shock. "Y-you want to help him? This doesn't include poisoning or trying to strangle him does it?"

"No, nothing like that. I'm willing to put aside grudges to help him if it means that much to you, baby-brother."

"Thanks, sis."

"You're welcome, now get going or you'll be late for school."

Kuwabara grins before grabbing his bag. Obviously, his sister had finally accepted what happened. 'I can't believe she's agreed to help him. Is she drunk?' he wonders but then decides it doesn't matter.

Shizuru might know how to keep Ani relatively comfortable since Kazuma had NO idea what to do. A grin appears on his face and he finds himself in a wonderful mood…until Yusuke catches up to him. "What the hell were you thinking?" Yusuke demands storming towards him.

Kuwabara inwardly sighs. Of course, something HAD to go wrong today didn't it?

"Yusuke, he had just been kidnapped and his life had been threatened. I didn't want to cause him anymore grief," he says calmly.

"Of course not, you just have to be the most forgiving person on the whole team. Kuwabara, wake up! This is Ani Toguro we're dealing with. Have you forgotten what he did to you?" Yusuke snaps.

"No, Yusuke, no I haven't. I just don't see what good hating him will do when he's vulnerable and needs to be protected. He's having triplets…my triplets. I don't want any harm to come to them…or him, okay?" Kuwabara tells him. He realizes that he's obviously said something wrong as Yusuke's brown eyes narrow.

"You don't want anything to happen to him? Did I hear you right? Are you actually worried about the health and well-being of a demon who cares for no one but himself?" Yusuke snarls.

"Look, I am not defending myself or Ani to YOU. You need to realize that this is MY life and I have to make my own decisions. Whether or not I hate Ani happens to be none of your concern and I would like it if you would stay out of my business," Kuwabara fires back. Yusuke looks stunned as if he had never thought Kuwabara would take this sort of step.

"Kuwabara, listen to me, he's a demon… a very nasty demon. You and I have both met and faced him before. There is nothing remotely human left within him. You will get hurt if you let yourself get too fond of him. After the children are born…if they are born, he is going to go right back to hating you. I don't want to see you hurt. Please, don't make a huge mistake by believing some good still exists because it doesn't. He's been stripped of all humanity for a long time and I don't think he's ever getting it back," Yusuke pleads.

"I hear you, Yusuke and I know that you are only trying to protect me, but I think you're wrong. I don't think that all the humanity has been taken from Ani. He still retains a lot of very human qualities. Yes, hormones have brought on most of his emotions but I still believe that he isn't beyond redemption. Let me make my own mistakes, Yusuke. I need to know whether or not he's capable of being decent. I won't blame anyone else but me if I get hurt because I would hate myself if I misjudged him," Kuwabara responds. Yusuke replies by glaring at him and storming off. Kuwabara only hopes that his friend calms down and thinks about this rationally. 'I know you hate him, Yusuke. I just wish you could put that aside…for now,' he thinks mournfully. He heads for school realizing that this might be one of the longest days of his life.

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Kurama, for the first time in his life, does two things he never thought he'd do on the same day; he lies to his mother and he skips school. He only hopes that this doesn't come back to haunt him but Kuronue's safety was more important than playing the role of dedicated son and student. Even though Koenma had promised to stay out of the Makai, he fears that the deity's father might get involved and that would be really, really bad. He had to get Kuronue somewhere safe before all hell broke lose and he doubts the Rekai is the right place for the pregnant winged-demon. He transforms into Yoko before entering the portal. He plans to tell Kuronue about his human form as soon as he can but doubts that it prudent at the moment. He finds his mate lying asleep in the room Koenma had left for him. Slowly he walks over to him and just observes him. His eyes alight on his stomach and he realizes that close up, it was obviously round. Cautiously, he moves closer and gently moves the blanket without awakening his sleeping mate. How had he not noticed this before? Kuronue was very advanced into his pregnancy Yoko realizes as he pulls the shirt up over his mate. He needed to get Kuronue checked out to see just HOW far along the bat demon was. As he pulls the garment down, Kuronue's lovely blue-eyes open. "Oh, hi," he murmurs weakly.

"Hello. I was merely…inspecting your stomach. Do you know how far along you are?" Yoko asks.

"I'm not sure…seven or eight months I think."

Yoko stares at him. "Seven or eight months? That isn't possible if you are carrying triplets!"

Kuronue chuckles. "You taught me how to do some illusions, remember?"

Yoko stares at him in shock. Kuronue used an illusion to keep him from realizing the truth? "Take it off, Kuronue."

"Very well, it's getting too hard to hold up, anyway," the youkai murmurs. In a moment, his appearance changes and Yoko begins to believe that he is indeed THAT far along.

"We need to get you checked out," Yoko says staring at his stomach a bit awed.

"Okay, I'm not about to argue with you." Yoko smiles and gently helps him onto his feet. He had to admit that there was something erotic about Kuronue looking so blissfully pregnant. He gives a soft smile.

"You're gorgeous, you know that right?"

"Well, you've told me that on occasion."

Yoko grins. "Well, you are beautiful and I love you."

"I have missed hearing that."

"You won't ever again, I promise. Let's go and figure out how much time is left until you have our children." Kuronue nods and the two former thieves head into the Makai and the same place Ani had gone. It didn't matter that the two demons were employed by Koenma as he had promised to leave them alone on threat of being killed by a pissed-off A-class fox-demon. They walk in and are told that the doctors would be out in a moment to see them. Yoko gets Kuronue situation and the winged-youkai settles back against the chair and closes his eyes.

Only twenty minutes pass before a sharp pain hits Kuronue. He jerks and lets out a sharp cry before clutching his abdomen. Yoko is up in an instant and before him. Kuronue?" he whispers. When he sees the stain, his eyes grow wide. "N-nurse!" he almost yells. The demon turns in his direction looking like she was about to give him a piece of her mind until she sees Kuronue. Her eyes widen.

"He's gone into labor," she says hurrying to him.

"He's what?" Yoko asks.

"He's gone into labor, we'll have to get him to a room but I don't have a stretcher available. Can you carry him?" Yoko responds by scooping up his almost screaming mate. "Sir, I know this hurts but you have to breathe, okay?"

"Breathe? Lady, I feel like someone is squeezing my damn insides," Kuronue grits out before another pain-filled cry escapes him. Yoko hopes that nothing bad happens. 'He was over eight months pregnant when Koenma had him killed?' he thinks, 'Only two days more and he would have given birth. What a bastard!'

The nurse leads him into an empty operating room. "Keep him breathing and undress him. I will go get the doctors right away," the woman says.

Yoko nods and starts to gently pull his mate's clothing off.

"I am going to kill you for this!" Kuronue grits out, "I swear, Yoko, this is entirely your fault!"

"Just keep breathing. It'll be over soon, I promise," Yoko murmurs realizing full well that he has no way of knowing that. 'Please, let this go correctly. Don't let me lose him again,' he begs, 'please, I can't lose him!'


	16. Part Fifteen

Part Fifteen: Of the Beginnings of Parenthood, and Deep Conversations

The moment the doctors had arrived, Yoko had been gently yet forcefully pushed from the room and told to go to the waiting room. That was over five hours ago and the Kitsune is trying his best to keep calm. He paces back and forth along the same path he had started walking the minute he had arrived. The poor floor is looking pretty worn out but he doesn't care. He's too busy wondering if he is going to lose his beloved mate again. He looks up at the clock as he makes another circuit and realizes that the others would be out of school soon. He makes a mental note to call Keiko and Kuwabara once he knows that they have returned home. "Umm, excuse me, sir, is there anyone I can call for you?" that same nurse inquires. He turns and looks at her. "You look very upset. It might be good to have a friend here with you."

"May I use the phone?" he asks. She nods and holds it out to him. 'Please be at Genkai's,' he thinks as he dials the number. Thankfully the elderly psychic and seen the need to put in a phone line to her temple and more often then not, Hiei was there. He waits for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" Genkai asks.

"Hello, Genkai, is Hiei there?"

"Kurama? Why aren't you in school…and why are you Yoko?"

"I promise to explain later. Is Hiei there? It's urgent."

"All right, fox-demon. I'll go outside and get him. He's been meditating all day."

Yoko waits his tail swishing anxiously. "Hn, what do you need fox?" Hiei inquires.

"I need you to come to the Makai. Kuronue was restored yesterday and he's gone into labor. Please, Hiei, I need you here."

"Calm yourself, fox. I am sure he's fine. If you give me a location I could come."

"I'm sorry, it's just that he's been in that damn room for five hours and I haven't heard a word from any of the doctors."

"Fox, a location." Yoko finally calms enough to tell him where he is at. "All right, I'll be there soon. Sit down and stop pacing around the room."

Hiei's command almost makes him smile. The fire-demon truly knew him well. "Very well. Just get here, Hiei!" Hiei's response is a slight chuckle before hanging up and Yoko knows he's on his way. He only hopes the smaller demon gets there before he's given bad news and not after.

Not even five minutes pass before the cloaked demon walks into the waiting room. "Still no word?" he asks.

"No, I'm getting worried. I don't want him to die, Hiei!"

"Oh, stop it, fox. He's not going to die."

"You don't know that!"

"Well, you don't know that he is, either." That quiets him and slowly, he sinks down into a chair.

"I can't lose him and our children…I just can't," he whispers miserably, "not after losing him because of Koenma. He'd been only forty-eight hours from conceiving Hiei. Had we not gone to that particular castle, he would have given birth within two days then Koenma would have had to stay away from them."

"Fox, living in the past won't help you. You need to focus on today. Stop torturing yourself over what might have been."

"You're right of course. Living in the past has never saved anyone. I need to look to the future but I don't know what it holds."

"Hardly anyone does, fox, hardly anyone does."

Both demons lapse into a companionable silence as they wait for news on Kuronue. Yoko divides his attention between the clock and the door through which he had carried Kuronue, and Hiei quietly watches him. He knew he had done the right thing by returning Kuronue and is confidant that the demon will be fine. He only wishes that Yoko had the same assurance.

It takes two more hours before someone appears in the doorway. "Yoko?" he asks. Cautiously, the silver-haired kitsune stands up. His golden eyes are guarded and wary.

"Yes?" the fox-demon asks trying to remain calm. 'Please be good news, please be good news,' he thinks over and over again.

"Congratulations. Your mate is fine and you have three healthy children; two girls and a boy," he tells him. It takes Yoko a moment to realize what was just said and when the truth finally dawns on him, joy wells up.

"I'm a father?" he whispers.

"Yes, you are the father to three. Your son is the middle child."

"Can I see them?"

"Of course, right this way."

Yoko turns to Hiei. "Do you want to come?"

Hiei shakes his head. "No, fox, you go and visit them. I am sure your mate is tired. I'll see them when you bring them to show everyone else." Yoko nods and follows the doctor down the hallway towards his mate. He was a father, him, the legendary bandit! A grin spreads across his face. Life was good again!

The doctor brings him into the room where Kuronue is laying on a bed looking exhausted but happy. "Hey, lovely," Yoko murmurs walking close.

"Hi, I'm tired," Kuronue says.

"Then you sleep. I'll watch over the little ones. We'll name them when you're awake," Yoko suggests. Kuronue smiles and nods before drifting off. Yoko looks at the basket cradled to Kuronue's side and gasps. Nestled within are his three children. The two girls were obviously taking after their "mother" in looks while the little boy was taking after both him and Kuronue. "A flying fox," he murmurs with an adoring smile, "How absolutely wonderful." He just stands there observing the four sleeping members of his family feeling more love and joy then he ever thought possible.

He soon remembers Hiei and heads into the waiting room but the fire-demon was no where to be found. "He told me to tell you to take care of yourself and that it was your secret to tell," the nurse says in way of explanation.

"Thank you," he says before heading to the door and back to his family. That was just like Hiei. He never did like to cause a scene or be a part of one. 'I hope one day you find happiness like I have,' he thinks, 'if anyone deserves it, it would be you."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right after school, Kuwabara heads back to get Shizuru. He had decided to ditch going to detention, which Mr. Akashi had decided he needed for just breathing. That rat-faced teacher still got on his nerves. He had hoped to get rid of him but for some reason the man ALWAYS seemed to teach a class Kuwabara was taking. The carrot-top swears that he does it on purpose but that wasn't exactly illegal. He knew that the next day there would be hell to pay but he had made a promise to Ani and he would be damned if some buck-tooth teacher made him break his word. Shizuru is waiting by the front door. "If you get called by Mr. Akashi tell him to fuck off, okay? I skipped detention," he tells her.

"Kazuma," she groans.

"What? He gave it to me because I was breathing! I couldn't stay after, I made a promise to Ani and I don't break my oaths!" he protests.

"He's getting pretty important to you, isn't he?" Shizuru inquires. Kuwabara looks at her quizzically. "You don't normally make promises to demons who have tried to kill you three times and actually keep them."

"I already told Urameshi that I don't have to defend myself to anyone, Shizuru. I am not going to let him go through this alone. It IS my fault he's in the predicament after all," Kuwabara tells her.

"That's not what I meant. I meant that you are beginning to really care for him…as a person." That stops Kuwabara cold, and he turns to look at her. "Face it bro, I think you are beginning to like the little guy."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! Shizuru, I'm straight!"

For some reason this makes her laugh. "Oh Kazuma, you really are dense aren't you!"

"Do you mind telling me why you're calling me an idiot?" he says irritably, "I don't have to bring you along you know."

"I wasn't calling you an idiot, baby-bro. You just don't see what's happening. I think it's wonderful and I hope you realize it sooner rather then later because I promise you WILL figure it out. I just hope I am there to see the realization dawn on your face. That will be a priceless moment."

"You're insane, you know that?" he mutters as he continues walking towards the portal though part of him is wondering what the hell she's talking about. 'What's happening?' he wonders, 'She's not making any sense.'

'Maybe she's making perfect sense and you just don't want to see that,' his mind pipes up, 'Maybe it's the fact that you aren't willing to admit the truth of her words that clouds over what she is telling you.'

'Shut up! I am NOT having the conversation about wanting Ani…AGAIN!'

'But you still do. You crave touching him and hearing him whimper your name.'

'I'm not listening, I'm not listening!'

'Yes, yes you are,' his mind taunts him. He shakes his head. "Something wrong, Kazuma?" Shizuru asks.

"No," he answers, "just a wandering mind." He sees her giving him a skeptical look but once again she doesn't push the issue. She merely shakes her head and mutters something about males and egos. He's sure it's not a compliment.

They arrive at the house and Kuwabara knocks on the door. Karasu answers it. "Hello, Kuwabara. Shizuru, it's nice of you to join us, come on in," he remarks.

"Well, at least you have manners," Shizuru comments. Karasu smiles.

"A little bit at any rate," he answers.

"How's Ani?" Kuwabara inquires.

"He's having trouble keeping anything down."

"Maybe I can figure out something. My mom could only eat certain foods when she was pregnant with Kazuma or she'd throw it back up."

"That would be much appreciated by everyone," Karasu tells her, "he should be in the den with Oto if he's not throwing up in the bathroom. He had been doing that frequently this morning." Nodding, Kuwabara heads in that direction, Shizuru right behind him.

Kuwabara peers in the den and has to smile. Ani is curled up on the couch staring at the TV. He looks up when they enter. "You're back," he murmurs.

"Yes, I promised I come back after school. My sister, Shizuru, decided she wanted to tag along so I brought her," Kuwabara responds.

"Welcome, Shizuru. I would be more hospitable but I fear that if I move I am going to lose the contents of my stomach…again."

"That's quite all right. I don't particularly want to see that happen."

"No, no you don't," Oto remarks.

"Shut up, brother," Ani tells him.

"Hey, if I have to watch you throw up fifteen, FIFTEEN times, I think I have a right not to want to go through it again!" Oto retorts. Ani stares at him in shock.

"Oh, shit," Kuwabara whispers knowing instinctively that Ani is about to react VERY badly. Within two seconds, Kuwabara is proven right and Ani starts wailing. Kuwabara covers his ears. "Gods, I didn't want to know what a banshee sounded like!"

"Damn, that one has a voice," Shizuru agrees.

"Wonderful, Oto just had to go and be an idiot didn't he?" Karasu grits out, "He's not going to hush for about three hours."

Kuwabara walks over to the couch and kneels down in front of Ani. "Hey, it's all right. He didn't mean to hurt you," he murmurs reaching forward and brushing the smaller demon's hair out of his face. He has no idea what the hell he's doing, but to his surprise, it works and Ani quiets looking at him. "He didn't mean to upset you, Ani." The smaller demon merely sniffles and once again, Kuwabara realizes that he looks rather cute. 'What the hell?' he thinks, 'Since when does Ani look cute in anyway?'

"Why can't I keep myself together?" Ani whispers miserably, "This is humiliating."

"Hey, no one blames you," Karasu assures him, "You're pregnant and you have mood swings. It's normal. Your brother needs to think a little bit more about what he says or he'll get his mouth glued shut." That makes Ani snicker.

"I'd pay money to see that," Kuwabara remarks looking at the violet-eyed demon.

"Well, if I am forced to do it then I'll give you a front row seat to it," Karasu tells him, "You and Ani."

"So, getting back to the eating issue, is there anything you've tried that HAS worked?" Shizuru asks.

"No, but after the first try, he refused to come near any sort of food," Oto answers. Shizuru chuckles.

"I can understand him not wanting to eat anything because of that but he needs to. Why don't you try giving him fruits and seeing if he can keep them down," she comments.

"I don't see why not. I'll go see what I can find," Oto remarks before heading to towards the kitchen.

"Karasu and I will help you," Shizuru says suddenly. Karasu looks at her but she merely takes him by the arm and follows Oto leaving Kuwabara and Ani alone.

"I'm sorry," Kuwabara murmurs looking at him.

"For what?" Ani asks.

"For getting you into this mess. It can't be easy knowing that you are carrying my children."

"I made the decision to keep them, Kuwabara. I knew all along whose they were since I was told that I was pregnant. Maybe I wasn't too happy in the beginning, but neither of us had a choice in the matter. Fate saw fit to make us parents which means that we are responsible for the lives of these little ones."

"My, I don't think I've ever heard you talk so much!"

"That's because I only open my mouth when I have something important to say."

"Where have I heard a variation of THAT line before? Oh, yes, right before I had to get ready to get into an arena with you."

"You truly surprised me, Kuwabara. Every obstacle that ever came your way you faced with a strength I have seen few possess. You knew what you stood for and you knew what you were trying to accomplish."

"Are you complimenting me, Ani?"

"Don't get too used to it, I won't due it often."

"Drat, and here I thought it would be an everyday occurrence."

"Brat."

Kuwabara smiles. "Why thank you."

Watching from the doorway, Karasu can't help but look at Shizuru who smiles. "He's falling for him," she murmurs, "He just doesn't see it yet."

"What happens when he does figure it out? Yusuke will NEVER accept it," Karasu responds.

"No, that is true but I think Kuwabara is strong enough to lose Yusuke's friendship for the sake of his own heart."

"He's turning into a demon, you know that right?"

"…Yes. I have suspected it for a while now. He has no idea what's happening to him but he's had days were he's just been too tired and achy to go to school. He has yet to realize that there is a reason that he's feeling like that. I just don't know how he'll take it."

"I don't know that it is crucial that we tell him at this very moment. It might be able to wait until the children are born before we put anymore on his shoulders."

"That is true. He's so sure that he's straight, it's almost going to be sad to watch him realize that isn't the truth."

"Well, I can understand why he would want to believe that he is. He feels so abnormal that he craves one trait socially defined as normal," Oto says as he walks up with a bowl of fruit, "He cares far too much about what other people think."

"I used to think that was true, but now I am not so sure. He told me earlier that he told Yusuke that he didn't have to defend Ani or himself to anyone. I think he's beginning to understand that the only way to be happy is to be happy with himself and not to base that on anyone else's definition of happiness," Shizuru says, "It will take him a while but I do believe that he will figure himself out eventually. He's really very bright; he just doesn't always use common sense."


	17. Part Sixteen

Part Sixteen: The Next Generation of Thieves Have Arrived

Kuronue sleeps for five hours before he finally comes to. His blue eyes blink open sleepily. "Hi again, feeling better?" Yoko inquires.

"A bit," Kuronue yawns before slowly sitting up. He looks down that the basket holding the three little ones and smiles softly. "They're beautiful."

"They're perfect, too. I also have a feeling they're going to be a handful as well."

Kuronue chuckles. "Well, just look at their parents. It is obvious that they are going to be trouble!"

"Well, the new generation of trouble makers need names don't they?"

"So they do. What shall we call them?"

The conversation takes almost a two more hours as they debate names for their children. In the end they finally come to an agreement. Their eldest, a girl, is christened Tiara, their middle child, a boy, Velaris, and their youngest daughter, Amarlie. "You can leave if you want to," the nurse remarks, "Oh, and Kuronue, you can…breast-feed them."

Kuronue stares at her for a moment before he realizes what she just said.

"Wh-what?" he asks. Yoko starts snickering.

"You can breast-feed," she repeats.

"I am MALE, that shouldn't be possible."

"Yes, well have you noticed unusual sensitivity in reference to your nipples?" Kuronue's blush answers that question. "Well, that would be why. Have a good day, both of you."

Kuronue is still crimson as they leave. "Oh come on, Kuro, it's not THAT bad," Yoko murmurs.

"Not that bad? Yoko, I can BREAST-FEED! This is absolutely humiliating!"

"You worry too much, lovely. Anyone who has a problem with it will face me, and I promise that it won't be pretty." That gets a small smile from his mate. "So do you want to meet my friends now or later?"

"Well, we need a place to stay that isn't near Koenma. I don't want him around the little ones."

"Okay, then first I am taking you to Genkai's because there is something that I have to tell you."

"Is it bad?"

"Well…that depends on your definition of bad."

"Umm…a hint would be nice."

"Theoretically, I have a human form."

"That's not exactly what I would call bad."

"Well, I also have a human family and none of them know I am a demon or gay."

"THAT could be a problem."

"Yes, yes it could."

"Well, I don't know if it would do you any good to tell them that you are also the father of three with another male demon."

"That would definitely make my grave deeper."

"So, if they decide to chuck you out on your ass, where do we go?"

"We might end up asking to move into the Makai home of the other pregnant male demon that is also expecting triplets and is consequently, three feet tall."

"I definitely pity him."

"Yes, well let's go so I can explain to my parents why I wasn't home all night."

"I knew it wasn't theoretical."

"You know me too well."

"So when can I see your human form?"

"In a few minutes. This is going to be rather difficult for me."

"I bet. Take your time. I'll hold the midgets."

"Why don't we go and get them necklaces as a way to distinguish them."

"All right, let's go."

It is only two hours before Yoko is standing near his home. With a sigh, he reverts back to his redhead human form. "Dear gods, you're something else," Kuronue breathes entranced by his mate.

"Well, here goes nothing," he murmurs as if he hasn't heard Kuronue, "If you hear yelling, move away from the building. I wouldn't want our children to wake up and throw a fit here."

"All right," Kuronue answers as he watches him walk towards the door and adds on quietly, "Good luck."

Kurama slowly opens the door and steps into the house. He finds his mother sitting in the living room. She looks up when he comes in and then almost jumps from her seat. "Shuichi!" she exclaims.

"Mother," he murmurs.

"Where have you been? I have been sick with worry! You never went to school yesterday and then you never came home!"

"I apologize for worrying you. Something came up that needed my attention."

"What could possibly have been more important then school?"

Kurama closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "You might want to sit down for this, mother."

"I don't like the sound of this, Shuichi."

"You probably won't. There is something I need to tell you and I know that you are going to have a lot of questions. I just hope that once I reveal this to you, you can one day forgive me. I am not human. I am what is called a Kitsune or fox-demon." He waits for her response to his admission.

"A demon? You are a demon?"

"Yes, yes I am. My name is Yoko Kurama. I am a legendary thief and had been well known in the demon world."

"Why? How? I don't understand."

"I had been hurt by a demon-hunter and I took refuge in the fetus of your child. I was desperate…I felt I didn't have another choice."

For a few moments, Shiori is silent and Kurama watches her. He knows her well enough to recognize that she is not at all pleased with the situation.

"Get out of my house," she finally says in an angry whisper, "Leave and never come back…demon!"

"As you wish," Kurama says softly, "I am so sorry, mother."

"Don't call me that!" she yells at him. He takes that as his cue to leave before she broke down in hysterics. He had caused her enough trouble for one lifetime without being the reason she had an emotional breakdown. He quietly lets himself out, bitterly cursing his decision as he hears her crying in the living room.

Kuronue is waiting by the portal to the Makai and wisely says nothing. He just puts his hand on Kurama's shoulder and gives a gentle squeeze. "We should go to Genkai's temple. I'll call Kuwabara from there and see if there is anyway we can stay with Ani and Oto," Kurama says hollowly.

"You should rest before you call your friend. You're in no position to make that sort of call when you look like you're going to break down. I am sure it can wait awhile," Kuronue tells him. Kurama reluctantly nods and leads him away from the portal.

"There is a way to get there through the woods so that no one asks about you or the little ones," Kurama says absently as they walk. Kuronue just lets him talk about nothing because it helped him cope. He knows that in a little while the redhead will probably break down and he's hoping that doesn't happen until he has a place to set the children down.

They arrive at a temple in the middle of the woods. An elderly woman is standing in the doorway. Her eyebrow rises as she notices them but she doesn't look too surprised to see a winged, pointy-eared male walking around. "Kurama, who's your friend?" she asks.

"This is my mate Kuronue," he answers.

"Your mate?"

"Yes, my mate. May we stay here for a while until other plans can be made?" Kurama inquires.

"You told her didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Come on in, both of you. Would it be rude to ask about the basket?"

Kurama smiles softly. "We'll tell you once we get inside." The psychic nods with a slight smile and waves both of them in. Once he enters the doorway, he reverts back to his demon form.

"Hello, fox," Hiei says appearing in the doorway.

"Hi, Hiei," he responds. He watches as the fire-demon looks at Kuronue with interest. "Hiei, this is my mate, Kuronue. Kuronue, this is my good friend, Hiei."

"Hello," Kuronue says softly.

"Welcome," the fire-demon says to him.

"So, the basket?" Genkai asks. Yoko nods towards Kuronue to answer.

"The basket…umm…well, it kinda has…umm," Kuronue stammers not feeling too comfortable answering complete strangers.

"Take a deep breath, Kuronue, and calm down," Yoko murmurs.

Kuronue breathes deeply before starting over. "The basket contains Yoko and my three children," he finally admits. The look on Genkai's face is enough to make him smile.

"Ch-children?" she asks. Kuronue smiles before slowly walking over and holding the basket up so that she can see within. Her eyes widen in shock and she smiles softly. "They are beautiful."

"They are aren't they? Hiei would you like to see?" Yoko asks.

"Hn," Hiei says noncommittally. Yoko smiles in fond exasperation before gently taking the basket and showing his sleeping children to Hiei. The fire demon's eyes widen as he sees the sleeping demons curled up within. They were so tiny…and cute! "Well fox, it is sufficed to say that you've doomed all demon-kind."

"No, Hiei, Kuwabara has doomed all of demon-kind," Yoko answers smiling slightly.

"What do you mean?" Genkai asks looking confused. Yoko realizes that she hadn't been told of the situation and gives a weak smile.

"Kuwabara has gotten Ani pregnant with triplets," he answers. Genkai chokes.

"Ani…pregnant?"

"Yes, Ani is pregnant. He's about a month and a half along."

"He's pregnant with triplets?"

"Yes."

The elderly psychic sits down and looks at him. "I have never imagined…how…I don't think I want to know the how do I?"

"Well, Kuwabara and Ani ended up kidnapped by the same demon who, upon threat of death, demanded that Kuwabara take the Ani. It was a while after we rescued Kuwabara that he admitted to that happening and then it was awhile before even he was aware that Ani had gotten pregnant by that encounter."

"How are they both taking it?"

"Well, they are on speaking terms with each other and Ani seems to like having Kuwabara close. He's spent at least one night with him that I know of and seems to really care for Ani's well-being."

"It sounds like there might be some hope for him after all…I never fully stopped believing that he was human. He just doesn't like being reminded of that…oh, I'm sorry, my mind wandered."

"That's all right. You did know them best."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had taken awhile but they had finally discovered that Ani could eat fruits without having to make a direct beeline for the bathroom. Nothing else at the moment was working too well. "Well, it's definitely a start," Shizuru comments.

"Yeah, well, I didn't ask for my stomach to be this temperamental," Ani complains.

"We never said that, Ani," Shizuru tells him. The smaller demon sticks his tongue out at her which makes her chuckle. "Real mature, demon."

"I don't particularly like acting my age, Shizuru," he retorts.

"I can imagine. You're what, seventy?"

"Cheeky, brat. I was about forty when I became a demon."

Kuwabara watches them bicker back and forth and feels a tightening in his chest sort of like…jealousy? What the hell? He was NOT feeling jealous of his sister teasing Ani! He didn't even like the midget! Well, that wasn't exactly true. He did care for Ani but that was only because he had gotten him pregnant in the first place…wasn't it? While those two continue to tease each other, he slips outside for a moment. What the hell was wrong with him? He sits down near the door and stares into the distance. "Are you all right?" Karasu asks. He looks back towards the door at the violet-eyed demon.

"I don't know," he admits after a moment of quietly observing him, "I thought so…until I realized I was getting jealous of my sister and Ani getting along so well."

Karasu looks at him curiously. "Jealous?"

"Yes, jealous. I don't know why I would be, or maybe I don't want to think about why I would. I'm making no sense…I don't even know anymore. After Ani got kidnapped it's all been very difficult, but not in a bad way…not really. I'm just so confused and worried at the same time and you are NOT helping by seeming to be an actually decent person!"

Karasu chuckles, "Would you rather I act as I did in the tournament? I can do that if it makes you feel better."

"No, no that's all right. What happened afterwards? You have all changed so much."

"A lot of things happened. For me and Oto, Limbo straightens out people very well I would imagine. Bui is the same as he was at the Dark Tournament but even that wasn't anything to be frightened of. Of all of us, I do believe he's remained the most honorable…which is almost laughable considering that he's the most dense one of us. Ani, well, I think the pregnancy has changed Ani along with the fact that you are NOT rubbing it in that you got him pregnant. I think he feared you being cruel even though he'd never admit to it."

"Wow, you sure can speak for a long time."

"Don't be snide."

"Hey, I only have to be nice to Ani, not you."

Karasu chuckles again. "You have changed a lot since I last saw you. You seem more confident now."

"Maybe a little bit but I must admit to feeling rather strange sometimes. I have a habit of forgetting where I am and what I am doing."

"Oh, when did this start?"

"A few weeks before I ended up kidnapped. I would wake up in places I know I didn't fall asleep in. The day I got kidnapped, I wasn't knocked unconscious or actually captured. What happened was in the middle of fighting the idiot, I passed out unexpectantly."

"You have yet to tell your friends this?"

"I don't want them to worry. I don't think it's anything for them to be concerned with."

"Maybe you should get checked out…just in case. You wouldn't want to accidentally injure yourself more then you have, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't. I just have a strange hesitation to go and see someone. I don't know if I want to know the truth…I'm a coward to be completely honest."

"No, Kazuma, you are no coward. I have seen enough of you to know this. It would be easier for you to go before it threatens your life."

"You are really pushy, you know that? Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"I am fine…I think."

"Boy if Kurama could see you now…I don't know what he would think."

"I try not to imagine that…or him," Karasu says softly. Kuwabara knows better then to pry.

"Ah so this is where you took off to," Shizuru remarks stepping outside.

"Sorry about that, I just needed a bit of air and you two seemed engrossed by your conversation," Kuwabara answers slowly standing up, "So who won the argument, by the way?"

"I did," Ani and Shizuru say at the same time.

"Figures," Kuwabara says chuckling as they glare at each other.

Inside the phone rings interrupting them. "I'll get it," Ani says disappearing into the living room. Shizuru, Kuwabara, and Karasu follow after him wondering who might be calling. Ani picks up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Ani, it's Kurama."

"I could have figured from the voice it would be you, Kurama. Is something wrong?"

"Well, sort of. I told my mother that I am a demon and she threw me out so Kuronue and I were wondering if maybe we could move in there until we find a new home," Kurama answers.

"You could stay with Genkai."

"Yes, well I don't know about her tolerance for crying babies."

Ani's eyes widen. "Kuronue's given birth?" he asks and watches as Karasu, Kuwabara, and Shizuru all turn to look at him in shock.

"Yes, he gave birth yesterday to triplets; two girls and a boy."

"Congratulations, Kurama. Of course you can stay here. I want to meet the newest generation of thieves."

"Thank you, Ani."

"Of course, Kurama. Oh, Kuwabara and Shizuru are here so they'll probably want to see them as well." He hears Kurama chuckle.

"I could have guessed that he would be over there with you…all right, Kuronue and I will be over there in five minutes…okay?"

"That's fine. I'll see you then." Ani hears the click and hangs up the phone before facing the others. "Kurama admitted to his mother that he was a demon and she threw him out so Kuronue, he, and their three newborn children are coming here in about five minutes."

"Kuronue had triplets?" Kuwabara asks.

"Yes, two girls and a boy. He gave birth yesterday," Ani answers. He looks at Karasu who gives a weak smile and a slight nod indicating that he was fine with the situation though Ani knows him better then that. He had seen how difficult it was for Karasu to learn that Kurama had a mate and now, now he would be meeting that demon.

Five minutes later, the doorbell rings. "I'll get it," Ani tells them before walking out of the room. He heads to the door and opens it. He smiles at Kurama. "Hello, come on in," he greets. The redhead smiles back before walking in. Behind him walks a long black-haired blue-eyed winged demon. Ani realizes that this is Kuronue.

"Thank you again, Ani. I know this is such short notice," Kurama remarks.

"Don't worry about it. This house is big enough. So who's the quiet one?"

Ani answers.

"This is my mate, Kuronue. Kuronue, this is Ani. He's pregnant with triplets as well."

Ani sees the sapphire-eyed demon smile. "It's going to be a lot of fun, let me tell you," he murmurs.

"I can imagine," Ani responds, "Well, the others are waiting in the living room so why don't we go join them?"

"That sounds good. Who all is in there?" Kurama asks.

"Shizuru, Kuwabara, and Karasu. Bui is hiding and Oto is out meditating," Ani answers. He just sees Kurama nod and wonders why the redhead wondered. He decides that it is irrelevant and leads them into the living room.

"Hey, Kurama," Kuwabara greets.

"Hello, Kuwabara. How have you been?"

"I've been doing fairly well, and you?"

"Well, I've been formally thrown out of my house and now the father to three. Not bad for two day's work."

Kuwabara chuckles. "So can we seem them?"

"Sure," Kurama says before gently taking the basket from Kuronue. "They've been sleeping for awhile now. Kuronue's expecting them to wake up any moment demanding food."

"Ah, yes that is going to be fun. I can breast-feed," Kuronue murmurs stepping beside Kurama.

"Breast-feed?" Ani asks looking highly unsettled.

"Yep, though without the breast part more or less. It makes for extraordinary sensitive nipples and I am not looking forward to having to…"

"Waahhh!" A heart-wrenching cry interrupts him as the children decide at that moment to want food. The bat-demon groans softly.

"Why me? Oh, why me?" he mutters before slipping out of his shirt and picking up Tiara in one arm. She immediately latches onto his nipple and he whimpers. After waiting a few minutes, he then picks up Velaris and the boy does the same as his sister.

Ani watches as Kuronue breast-feeds them rather intrigued. He can tell by the looks on the other's faces that they are as well. It was a rather incredible sight and Kuronue; well he's blushing bright red as he observes his audience. Kurama chuckles. "Let's hope Ani doesn't have to go through this," Shizuru remarks, "I don't know if he'd be able to stand the embarrassment."

"I don't think I would be able to, either," Ani agrees.

After a half-hour, he's finished with the three of them who are soundly asleep

again. "That was embarrassing," he mutters placing the cradle down on the couch, "And it felt really, really awkward. Can't we just bottle feed them?"

"Kuronue, you know that breast-feeding is healthiest," Kurama says softly.

"You wouldn't be saying that if YOU were the one doing this!" he grumbles.

Kurama smiles before softly kissing him on the lips.

"Hush and stop complaining," the redhead tells him.

"Yes, it could be worse. You could actually have breasts," Ani teases. Kuronue scowls at him though it's obvious he's hiding a smile.

"Are you going to formally introduce your children or are we going to have to guess?" Shizuru asks finally.

"Oh, our apologizes. We were about to and then they decided to get hungry.

The eldest one is our first daughter Tiara, the middle our son Velaris, and the youngest our second daughter Amarlie," Kurama answers.

"They are precious," she murmurs looking down at them.

"Yes, for now they are. Imagine how they will be during their toddler years," Kuronue comments, "They will be holy terrors."

"Most young demons are but these…these will be a special brand of holy terror," Ani chortles, "It will make you two sorry you ever decided to become thieves in the first place."

"So we have guessed," Kuronue murmurs, "Though we wouldn't have it any other way."

Karasu watches from his spot near the door. He is about to leave the room before he can't bear to the watch the scene. He's already doing his best to hide the pain he's in. 'He's obviously happy,' he thinks watching Kurama smile adoringly at his mate, 'I need to get over my childish infatuation with him. He has a mate and children. He most certainly doesn't need a lovesick demon fawning on him.' Without a sound, he slips out of the room and out to the backyard. He heads into the woods and curls up at the base of a tree before he lets down the mask he had erected and the tears fall. He pulls his knees close to his chest and sobs quietly.


	18. Part Seventeen

Part Seventeen: A Fight Reveals far More then a Friend's Anger

A week passes and Kurama finds himself staying in the Makai. Shiori had made a few phone calls and had Shuichi pulled from school as if she were deciding teach him at home in an effort to try and hide the truth. Kurama knows that his life in the Ningenkai has come to an end though he can't say that he's going to miss that life too much. He settles down in the Toguro's home with Kuronue and the triplets. Kuwabara comes everyday after school and stays for the night with Ani who has managed to keep a little bit of food down that isn't fruit. The smaller demon keeps looking in the mirror and sighing knowing that he's soon going to start bulging. He isn't looking forward to it though he refuses to do anything to fix that.

Life starts to calm down for the small group, though Karasu does what he can to make himself scarce during the day. He cannot bear to be in the same room as Kuronue or Kurama though he was decidedly fond of their children. Tiara has Yoko's golden eyes while Velaris and Amarlie have Kuronue's sapphire ones. Tiara has tufts of black hair coming in, Velaris seems to have a mix of black and silver, and Amarlie has silver tufts of hair. They were all precious and had anyone tried to hurt them, Karasu would gladly blow them up. He just couldn't face Kurama and he didn't want to be around Kuronue afraid of what he might do out of jealousy. He knows that Ani understands his reasons for not staying around and respects them. His wanderings bring him to the pond where he had discovered the cloth soaked in chloroform. He sits down and stares into the water. 'I wish I had stayed in Limbo,' he thinks, 'It hurt less than this. I still want him…I guess that will never change. At least he's happy with Kuronue, he deserves that much.' "Moping doesn't suit you," Bui murmurs from behind him.

"Yes, well that is my issue not yours," Karasu retorts not really in the mood to talk to the blue-haired demon.

"You can't go the rest of eternity looking like a beaten puppy, Karasu. You've always been stronger than that."

"Not when it comes to Kurama. Something about him just makes me feel so helpless, and I hate him for it!"

"Yet you would have it no other way."

"…Yes."

Bui chuckles softly. "You really have it bad for that one. It's just unfortunate that he has a mate already."

"Yes, Kuronue. He seems nice enough…I suppose."

"You haven't taken the time to observe him have you?"

"No. I don't want to know what he has that I don't…could we not talk about this? I don't feel up to the conversation and even if I was, I wouldn't want to have it with you."

"All right, don't bite my head off, Karasu." He doesn't leave after saying this; instead he sits down quietly beside his black-haired comrade showing a surprising amount of intelligence where Karasu is concerned. The violet-eyed bomb-wielder leans his head against his shoulder and sighs.

"Have you ever fallen in love, Bui?" he asks.

Bui goes silent for a moment before answering. "Yes."

"Oh, with whom?"

"Hiei if you must know."

"Hiei? Wow, I didn't realize."

"I am good at hiding my emotions. Wearing armor except while sleeping helps hide that fact. It doesn't really matter. I doubt that Hiei would ever consider taking a mate. He considers most emotions as weakness."

"I have noticed that though I think it has more to do with him being afraid of needing someone close to him. I don't think he had a good childhood."

"That would do it."

Both demons lapse into a companionable silence, each thinking about the demon they wanted but could never possibly have. They had been companions before Toguro had found them and somewhere along they way that had grown almost friendly towards one another. Though Bui almost always found ways to get himself into trouble, he was often the one Karasu talked to for advice if he didn't want to talk to Ani. The blue-haired demon listened well and offered what advice he had. His tendency to be rather dense and immature sometimes grated on Karasu's nerves and ended up with him on the bad side of Oto, but all in all, Bui made a wonderful companion and friend. Karasu doesn't know what he would do if Bui were to beat Oto and reclaim his freedom. He knows that it's selfish of him but he hopes that Bui never gets that strong so that he can't leave.

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Around noon, there is a visitor. Kuwabara immediately knows whom it is by the way they pound on the door. "I'll deal with this, Ani, it's Yusuke," the carrot-top murmurs heading towards the hall. He doesn't want Yusuke anywhere near the pregnant demon while he's angry and Kuwabara is sure that the dark haired teen is probably in a bad mood. He opens the door. "Hello, Yusuke," he greets pleasantly.

"I didn't know you had a change of address," the black-haired teen mutters irritably.

"I stay here when I am not in school, Yusuke."

"You have a home you know."

"Yes, I know. I just like to check up on Ani."

"Of course, the midget needs constant supervision."

"Don't start, Yusuke."

"Don't start, don't start! Kuwabara, you are watching over a tormentive, psychotic demon who seems to enjoy harassing you! When are you going to get it through your thick skull that once your children are born he's going to try and send you onto your afterlife?"

Kuwabara doesn't respond, he merely grabs Yusuke's wrist and shoves him outside. He steps out after him and shuts the door. "What are you doing?"

"I am keeping you from upsetting Ani! You need to stop being so accusative. He's having mood swings and I personally don't want to go through another one because you're being an idiot! Mind your own business and let me make my own decisions. You and I have had this discussion before and I don't feel like having it again!"

"Yeah, well you didn't listen to me the last time or you wouldn't be here! I am trying to keep you from getting hurt by him again! You are putting yourself needlessly at risk for being killed! I don't know why you can't see this!"

"Yusuke, I know that you are trying to protect me and I am touched but you need to leave me alone. This decision is mine to make. They've changed since we last saw them…they've really changed. I don't know to the extent that it has happened but I rather like the improvements I have seen so far. They are letting Kuronue and Kurama stay here because Kurama's mom tossed them out. Did you get Kurama's message?"

"Yeah, I heard he's the father of three."

"Two girls and a boy. They are the cutest things I have ever seen."

"That's off the subject. Even so, I know that Kurama can take care of himself, he's a demon. You on the other hand are still easily swayed into thinking that there is good left in him. There is nothing good left in that freakish little midget!"

"Don't you start insulting him, Yusuke! He has done nothing to you so leave him alone!"

"I can't believe that you're defending him!"

"Yeah, well if it were Keiko you would be defending her, too!" Kuwabara fires back.

"That's different, I am in LOVE with Keiko. You don't love Ani!" Yusuke retorts.

Something inside Kuwabara snaps. "Yeah, well how do you know?" he demands.

"Because it's Ani Toguro for Christ's sake. No one could fall in love with him."

That does it. Something deep inside Kuwabara takes over as a potent rage spirals through him and he snarls the last thing he had ever expected to come from him. "Well then you've proven what an idiot you are, Urameshi. I AM in love with him thank you very much!" The moment the words leave his mouth he realizes what it is that he's been avoiding thinking about since he was captured and forced to take Ani. His blue-eyes widen to the size of saucers and his entire body tenses. 'Oh my god,' he thinks, 'Oh my god I did NOT just…oh my god!'

"You're what?" Ani asks from the doorway. His golden eyes are wide and he's staring at Kuwabara like he's never seen him before in his life. Kuwabara looks at him for a minute before he does the one thing he can do…he flees back to the portal to the Ningenkai.

He runs the entire five miles from the portal to his house before he realizes it. He almost collapses at the door he's breathing so hard and shaking. He reaches for the doorknob but his hand is shaking too much to turn it. Luckily, Shizuru hears it and opens the door. She looks out and stares at him. "Kazuma?" she asks worriedly seeing the expression on his face, "What happened?"

"I-I," he stammers before he begins trembling too hard to say anything other then, "oh my god!"

"Calm down, Kazuma. Let's get you inside before the neighbors start wondering about you," Shizuru murmurs before ushering him inside and to the couch. He sits down heaving and puts his head in his hands. For awhile he doesn't say a word, he just sits there shaking, wanting to cry but valiantly holding the tears back. "What happened Kazuma? What's got you so upset?"

"Yusuke…he came. We argued about Ani and I…I…oh gods, I said I was in love with him!" he yells before losing the fight with the tears. They spill down his cheeks. "Gods, why me? I can't…not with him! I can't!"

"Shh, calm down, Kazuma. I know things look bad right now but wait until you're level headed before you try to figure this out."

"He heard me. Ani heard me and I ran like the coward I am. I'm not going to be surprised if he hates me."

"Hush, little brother. I don't think he'll hate you. You just rest and try to relax. I am going to call and make sure he knows that he's not the reason you ran." Kuwabara doesn't argue so she heads to the phone and dials the Toguros. Not surprisingly, it's Oto who picks up.

"Hello?" he asks.

"Hi, Oto, it's Shizuru. I just wanted to call to assure Ani that he's not the reason my brother fled. From what I gathered Yusuke and him had a little argument."

"It wasn't a little argument. This was a full-fledged fight without fists. We heard it from inside so my brother went to check on it. That was when Kuwabara told Yusuke in no uncertain terms that he was an idiot before admitting to being in love with my brother. He saw Ani who was absolutely baffled by the situation and that's when he fled."

"Yusuke is such a moron sometimes," Shizuru sighs.

"Yes. It was funny in a way, however, because right after Kuwabara fled, Yoko stormed outside and threatened to sic a carnivorous plant on Yusuke if he didn't remove himself from the property. Yusuke did just not before threatening my brother bodily harm."

"I am sorry about all this. I don't want to imagine what will happen if Yusuke tries to make good on his threats to Ani."

"He'll be dead is what he'll be," Kuwabara says from the doorway. Shizuru looks up at him. "I might not know what I am feeling and or doing at the moment, but I DO know one thing and that is if Yusuke even dares try harm one hair on Ani's head, I will NOT hesitate to kill him."

"Ani will be glad to hear that," Oto says to Shizuru, "Tell Kuwabara not to worry. Ani is just shocked at the outburst is all and also tell him to relax and let the feelings work themselves out. Rushing them will only cause him unnecessary difficulties."

"I will. Thank you, Oto," she remarks.

"You're welcome," he says before she hears that telltale click. She puts the phone down and looks at Kazuma.

"Oto says that Ani is fine albeit a bit shocked at your confession. He also advises you to be patient and let your feelings work themselves out," she tells him.

He merely nods before heading upstairs into his room. What on earth had possessed him to say that? What if it was true? He closes his eyes as his body trembles. He couldn't…wouldn't think about this, not now. He was far too emotionally drained to even begin to work through it. Yusuke had really done him in by coming to Ani and Oto's home. 'Dammit, why couldn't he let it go? Why did he have to go and open a door I didn't want to open? Dammit!'


	19. Part Eighteen

Part Eighteen: Yet Another Pregnant Male and Of Course, More Denial.

Kuwabara doesn't know how long he just sits there staring up at the ceiling. It is only when Shizuru comes in that he's startled from his thoughts. "Kazuma, you've been up here for almost four hours. I think you should come down and eat something," she says softly.

"Okay," he answers as he slowly stands up. He follows her downstairs hardly actually realizing that is what he's doing. Mechanically, he sits down at the table and stares off into space.

"Kazuma," Shizuru calls to him. He snaps out of it and realizes that he has a plate in front of him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," he tells her.

"I think you need to. It is really bothering you."

"I'm not in love with him! I don't know why I would say that!"

"Are you sure of that?"

"Yes…no…I don't know!"

"All right, calm down, Kazuma. This isn't the end of the world. Take a deep breath and let's talk about this."

"I don't want to talk about this."

"You need to."

"I don't care! I don't want to talk about Ani!"

"You need to talk about him."

"Why?"

"Because it is obvious that you are feeling SOMETHING for him.

Why are you so against talking about this?"

"It's not normal."

"What's not normal?"

"You know what's not normal!" he says hotly. Shizuru chuckles softly.

"So, do you have something against Kurama then?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then why do you say it's not normal?"

"Because…because…I don't want to talk about this, Shizuru!"

"Kazuma, I know that you aren't happy with your abilities being what they are. I know that it angers you that you aren't like everyone else but someday you are going to have to accept that you AREN'T this world's definition of normal."

"Why can't I be? Why do I have to be this way? I never asked for this!"

"I know you didn't but fate saw fit to gift you with your abilities. You need to embrace everything you are or you are never going to be happy, baby-brother."

"I can't be in love with him! I have spent years hating him for what he did to me. I shouldn't feel this way about the demon who made me feel so helpless and so inadequate to protect myself!"

"Would you stop living by Yusuke's rules, Kazuma? When are you going to realize that you are never going to be happy until you stop living for everyone else and live for yourself?"

Kazuma looks away from her. He doesn't want to face the truth that he could possibly love the demon who is carrying his children. He doesn't want to know that the moment Ani gives birth that he is going to go back to hating and wanting him dead. It would hurt him far too much to see that. "I can't, Shizuru. He'll go back to hating me and I won't be able to stand it."

"You won't hurt any less if you tell him or not. I know that you are afraid of this. I have watched you. I knew you were falling for him after you told me about staying the night with him. You have to see that this isn't a bad thing."

"He'll never return the feelings…why do I want him to? He's the one person who in all the time I have been a spirit detective, has caused me the most pain. Why should I want to be in love with him? It doesn't make sense!"

"Love usually doesn't, baby-brother."

Kazuma sighs. "What do I do?"

"Listen to Oto and let your feelings reveal themselves as they will. You shouldn't rush these things. I know that you don't like this situation but you can't escape it, either. You'll have to decide how you deal with Yusuke on this. I don't think he's going to be very supportive at all."

"All right. I am going to go and see Ani. I need to apologize for just taking off on him like that. I hope he's okay."

"You do that. Call me later, okay?"

"Sure, sis," Kazuma responds before heading out of the kitchen. He hadn't touched his food but he figures he'd just eat later if his hunger decided it wanted to return. He had more important things to worry about then his need for sustenance at the moment.

He heads to the house and goes to ring the doorbell. Voices within catch his attention and he waits to reveal his presence. "You're kidding!" Kurama's voice carries outside to him, "This has to be the most fertile century for males. So when is Itsuki expecting?" Kuwabara is stunned. Itsuki was pregnant? That was incredible!

"In about five and a half months," he hears Shinobu respond. That meant that the day they met him Itsuki was a few months along already. That makes him wonder why Koenma never found out. He decides to find those answers out and rings the doorbell. In a moment, Oto opens the door.

"Kuwabara," he greets.

"Hello, Oto," the carrot-top answers, "May I come in?"

"I don't see why not. We're just in the middle of greeting a couple new guests. It seems that another old enemy of yours has gotten himself pregnant as well."

"So I have heard," Kuwabara answers following the burly demon into the living room. Itsuki is sitting on the couch next to Shinobu. "Well, I hear your expecting, Itsuki."

The Yaminade blushes as he nods. "We were shocked when we realized it," Shinobu comments.

"I can bet. It's not every day that you discover you're pregnant while being male," Kuwabara tells him.

"So we have heard."

"Does Koenma know?"

"No. Itsuki's been adamant about not letting him in on this secret and I don't blame him."

"Yes, if he had found out, Itsuki would have been dead," Yoko interjects.

"What does he not like about children born from two males?" Shinobu inquires.

"He said something about them being extremely powerful and a danger," Ani says from the doorway. The smaller demon looks at Kuwabara and the carrot-top decides that now was the time to make sure Ani knew it wasn't his fault he had fled from the area.

"I wanted to stop by and apologize," he tells him.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Kazuma."

"Yes, yes I do. I shouldn't have taken off like that without telling you the reason and making sure that you know it's not because of you. Yusuke is being an ass…like normal and I just didn't want to come to terms with what I had told him. I am still working through what I said but you aren't the cause of anything that happened."

"Are you sure? It seems to be that I am the reason you two are arguing," Ani responds.

"He needs to get over himself is what he needs to do. He can't see why I can so easily forgive you. He holds grudges…he always has."

"I still don't see why he should hold one towards Ani. From what I remember he never really came in contact with him," Yoko remarks.

"You're right, he didn't. He doesn't necessarily have the right to hold a grudge against someone but you know Yusuke. He holds grudges against those he thinks other people should be holding a grudge towards. It's stupid, really."

"I couldn't have guessed that."

"Quiet, fox."

"Hey, only Hiei calls me fox!"

Kuwabara smirks. "So? The shrimp isn't here right now is he?"

"I could call him up and tell him that you called me fox!"

"Oh, so you are going to resort to pouting?"

"I am NOT pouting!"

"Yes you are."

"No I am not!

"Yes, you are."

"No, I am not.

"Yes, you are."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"Oh, shut up, both of you!" Kuronue says with fond amusement.

"Stay out of this!" They both chorus. Kuronue sighs.

"I am so abused!"

"You are not abused," Yoko tells him.

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not."

Kuwabara watches as the lovers begin to argue back and forth. He finds himself smiling as he watches. 'They really love each other,' he thinks, 'Could Ani and I ever be like that?' He looks almost startled at his own thought. He knew that sometimes you could have hidden feelings but this was getting into the realm of freaky. He had to stop this before he took off again.

Ani is watching him and notices his slightly distressed state. He wonders just what it is that is causing the carrot-top to act that way. 'I bet it has something to do with a certain conversation he had yesterday with Yusuke,' he thinks. Recalling exactly what was said makes him feel just a tad bit…warm. 'I am not falling for Kuwabara! That is NOT happening!' He lets out an inaudible sigh. 'Oh, who am I kidding? I haven't tried to kill him yet, so obviously I am somewhat fond of the oaf.' This was not how he had wanted things to work out. It would be so much simpler if he continued to hate the carrot-top. It was what was expected from the two of them as they were longtime enemies of each other. What was not expected was for him to feel as he did about Kuwabara. He hadn't wanted to admit it but he had felt safest when wrapped in the youth's arms. It isn't something he wants to dwell on so he goes back to observing Kuwabara. His golden eyes widen as the youth suddenly stiffens and his eyes roll into the back of his head.

Luckily, Yoko moves in time to catch and set him gently down on the couch. "What happened?" Kuronue asks.

"He passed out," the silver-haired fox-demon responds checking him over to see if he could find the cause.

"You won't find a physical reason for him fainting," Karasu says softly, "He's turning into a demon."

"You noticed?" Ani inquires.

"Yes, I did. How did you know?"

"Koenma told me that while I was with him."

"He told you?"

"I was trying to persuade him to let me live. He told me he couldn't because he didn't have a one hundred percent guarantee that Kuwabara would remain good once his transformation was complete."

"What an idiot," Yoko mutters, "He should know Kuwabara better than that."

"So I told him," Ani answers, "Even I know him well enough to know that there won't be a change once he's completed his transformation. Kuwabara is far too honorable." He notices the strange looks sent his way. "What? Am I not allowed to notice things?"

"Brother…the way you talk about him," Oto says cautiously looking as if he was about to say something that might end up with him dead, "Well, it seems like you're…fond of him…really fond of him."

"What exactly are you implying, little brother?" Ani asks in a soft, silky, and very, very dangerous tone. Oto actually swallows nervously.

"Are you in love with him?" he inquires. The others prepare for an extremely bad reaction. They aren't disappointed.

"Excuse me? Excuse me! Where do you get off asking ME if I am in LOVE with Kuwabara? I am a DEMON you muscle-bound imbecile! Love is NOT what I am capable of!" he yells glaring at him. Oto looks, for the first time any of them can remember, terrified of his brother. Not a one of them can blame him because for being three feet tall, Ani is terrifying with his golden eyes blazing furiously and his aura glowing around him.

"Y-you…you…" Oto can't even manage to get a full sentence out and decides that it might be a good idea to shut up BEFORE his brother decides to skewer him.

"To finish your brother's sentence, Ani, you're in denial," Itsuki says calmly from the couch. He knows that off all of them, he's the one least likely to get skewered by the angry demon. He's right and Ani merely scowls at him before storming out of the room. The yaminade chuckles. "Isn't denial fun?" he asks looking at the others who just look at him like he's crazy. He starts laughing again.


	20. Part Nineteen

Part Nineteen: The Beginning of Something More

Kuwabara wakes up a few hours later feeling really disoriented. "Wh-what happened?"

"You fainted," Ani answers from above him. The carrot-top looks up and sees Ani stretched out atop the couch looking down at him.

"I fainted?"

"Yes, you fainted."

"I have been doing that a lot it seems. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Do you want to know why that is?"

"You know?"

"Yes, though I could have someone else tell you so that you aren't learning something important from me again."

"That's all right, you can tell me."

"You are turning into a demon."

Kuwabara stares at him incredulously. "I'm what?"

"You're turning into a demon," he repeats.

"How?"

"That I am not sure of, but I have a good guess as to why you would be."

"And what is that?"

"Your powers have grown exponentially since we first met you. I don't know if it is possible but it might just be that your powers have grown to such an extent that you have no choice but to change to control it."

"I don't think that it is possible for a human to become a demon just because their strength increases. If that were so then wouldn't it work that way for Shinobu?"

"Well, I don't really know. It could be that it is your deep psychic abilities that are causing this."

"How do we find out?"

"That would involve calling Koenma."

"That is not a thought I really want to entertain at the moment, Ani."

"I know this, Kuwabara, but it might be detrimental that we call him to see."

"If you think it would help."

"I'll call him."

"All right."

Ani slowly hops off of the couch. He really didn't want to leave the room, but he knows that it is very important that they figure out what was going on with Kuwabara. He walks over to the phone and picks it up before dialing the Prince's office. An ogre picks up. "Hello, how may I help you?"

"I need to speak to Koenma, it is important," Ani tells him.

"Prince Koenma is very busy at the moment and wishes not to be disturbed."

"I don't care. I WILL speak to Koenma, NOW!"

The ogre obviously has enough intelligence to realize that whomever he was speaking to wasn't about to suffer people denying him his request. "Just a minute, please."

Ani waits a bit before hearing a familiar tone. "I thought I made it quite clear that I was not to be disturbed."

"Since when do I follow your orders, Koenma?"

"Ani! Umm…what do you need?"

"I want to know why Kuwabara is turning into a demon and what exactly that will mean for everyone else."

"You want to know what?"

"You heard me, Prince. Tell me why a human is turning into a demon without having prior knowledge of a demon lineage."

"Well, if I knew I would tell you. Kuwabara's case is the first we've ever had. Yusuke was a descendant of one which explains his transformation but with Kuwabara, well, we have no idea."

"When did his transformation start?"

"Soon after the fight with Sensui."

"Could it have anything to do with his deepening powers?"

"That is a very definite possibility but again, we don't know."

"So there is no way to tell what the end result is going to be is there?"

"No, which is why I didn't want him having any descendants. Between the both of you those children are going to be extremely powerful and very, very dangerous. I don't even want to get into Yoko's brood."

"The children are none of your concern, prince. I just wanted to know if you had any idea of why Kuwabara would be turning into a demon."

"He's a very special case. You might want to be careful when he finishes his transformation. You never know how his attitude might change."

"I know Kuwabara well enough. I think I can handle it. Thank you for your time, Prince." Without waiting for a response, Ani hangs up feeling no better than when he had called. 'Great, so there is no definite reason for him changing. Things just seem to get better and better all the time it seems,' he thinks. He slowly walks back into the living room.

"What did you find out?" Kuwabara asks.

"Well, it seems that once again, you have exceeded everyone's expectations,

Kazuma," he answers.

"You didn't find anything out did you?"

"Beyond that Koenma has no idea why, no."

"Wow, lucky me. I am turning into a demon for no known reason, how in the world do I end up doing this?"

"You're just you, Kuwabara."

The carrot-top laughs with a little bit of bitterness. "Yeah, that would be the truth wouldn't it?"

"There is NOTHING wrong with who you are, Kuwabara!"

"You don't know that."

"I was human once. I know what it is like to live in a world that cannot accept those of us with special gifts. You have to stop looking for acceptance from everyone. If you want to be universally popular, you're wasting your time. No one has the vote of everyone…ever. You need to understand that the only person whose opinion of you that should matter is your own."

"I don't want a lecture from you, Ani."

"I am not lecturing you, Kuwabara. You just seem to need a bit of guidance is all."

"You're beginning to sound like my sister."

"Well, your sister is obviously right."

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

The question startles Ani and he looks at the carrot-top. Kuwabara looks back at him just as intently. "Is my answer important to you?"

"Yes, your answer is important to me."

Ani slowly walks over and hops back onto the back of the sofa. He sits along it and looks down at him. "The simple truth of it is that somewhere along the line, I am not really sure where, I stopped seeing you as my enemy. I started seeing you as someone who was very big-hearted and deathly loyal to his friends; someone who wouldn't ever lower his morals for any reason whatsoever. I started seeing YOU, Kazuma, and then I realized that I was becoming attached to you."

Kuwabara looks at him completely shocked. He hadn't expected THAT to come from Ani. He has no idea what to say in response but it seems something in him has some sort of an idea. "I can say the same for you. When I saw you dropped onto the floor in that room I can remember being so aggravated that of all the enemies that had to end up there, it was YOU. I figured that seeing you three times in one lifetime was enough yet fate seemed to enjoy sending you to me. I have to admit that I was almost smug realizing that you were just as helpless as I am though part of me was angered that a demon like that had managed to bind YOU. When he made his demands I was utterly horrified at the implications of such a thing though I have to admit to being rather pleased that I would be the one doing it to you. It was probably pretty cruel of me but I couldn't help it. I hated you at that time…or at least I thought I did. When I actually had you, I made a realization that you still had some very human traits still left in you. It was that realization alone that caused me more grief than the memories of what actually transpired.

It was when you were kidnapped that I realized that I was beginning to really care for you. My heart almost stopped when I received the call that you had disappeared. I was absolutely ready to take on all of Rekai, Makai, and Ningenkai that I had to in order to get you back. I must admit that it scared me to realize that I could actually be fond of an enemy of mine who had scared me so thoroughly, but here we are. I don't regret it…not at all. Will Yusuke be angry? Yes, yes he will be very angry with me. Do I care that he will be angry? Well, that is the interesting thing. It's interesting because for being my closest friend, his opinion of the current circumstances means shit to me." He takes a deep breath realizing that this is probably the most he's ever spoken at one sitting and probably the most serious discussion he would ever have with Ani but it needed to be said. Deep down, Kuwabara knows that it is time to begin a journey to the rest of his life. And that would begin with the demon seated behind him on the couch. For once, Kazuma Kuwabara feels no fear at all, just the sense of rightness about this. "I want to get to know you, Ani. Would you let me?"

Ani stares at him in shock. Was Kuwabara asking what he thought the redhead was asking? He had been startled as he had sat there listening to him speak and hearing that question…well, he has no idea what he should do. He closes his eyes to try and gather his thoughts. The one thing he DID know beyond a shadow of all doubt, was that he felt safest with the carrot-top. "I don't know to the extent of what I feel for you is, and I will be the first to admit that I am terrified of discovering just what that happens to be. Be that as it may, I would like to discover that with you. So my answer to your question is yes, yes I will let you get to know me…if you'll do the same for me."

"Agreed," Kuwabara answers smiling at him. For some reason that makes Ani's cheeks feel really, really hot. 'Am I blushing?' he wonders startled, 'What in the world have I gotten myself into?'


	21. Part Twenty

Part Twenty: Of Protective Younger Brothers and Annoying Friends

It was obvious that everything had changed after their conversation.

Both Ani and Kuwabara know that they have chosen to take a journey with each other that could lead anywhere and could cause both of them a lot of pain in the process but they both also know deep down, that it will be worth it. They sit in companionable silence as both don't feel it is the right time to speak. The silence is only broken by the others' arrivals into the living room. "Ah, you're awake," Yoko murmurs.

"Yes, I have been up for sometime. I know that I am turning into a demon," Kuwabara answers.

"Yes, so it would seem. Did you by any chance discover a reason for this?"

"No, Koenma wasn't able to figure out why this is happening to me."

"That is most perplexing."

"Well, I am not too worried about it at this point. There is no use worrying over something that you can't help."

"You sure are taking this well, Kuwabara."

"Someone has to."

Yoko chuckles. It was good to see Kuwabara's good humor return. The youth had been rather distraught after that "talk" with Yusuke. Though something had changed between the two. He looks between them to see if anything seemed out of sorts but nothing did…physically anyway. 'What are you two hiding?' he wonders. This was a puzzle indeed and he would solve it.

Kuwabara's seen the intent look on Yoko's face too many times and knows that the fox-demon has realized that something is different between them. 'You keep guessing, Yoko,' he thinks, 'I wonder how long it will take you to figure out the truth.' "What are your plans for tonight?" Ani asks him suddenly. Kuwabara looks at him and out of the corner of his eye sees Yoko looking slightly confused. He smiles.

"Nothing, why? You want to go somewhere? You have been awfully cooped up since you were kidnapped," he answers.

"There's a restaurant in the Makai that's rather quiet. I am not too fond of being around a lot of people."

"I can understand that with the way your hormones have decided to act up. It sounds like a date," the carrot top says his grin widening at the looks on Oto and Yoko's faces. It was obvious that they had no idea what was going on.

"Did we miss something?" the burly demon finally asks looking at both of them. Kuwabara chuckles seeing Ani blush slightly.

"Well, yeah, you did," Kuwabara answers.

"What did we miss?"

"Ani and I agreed to get to know each other better."

"You WHAT!" Yoko, Karasu, and Oto all chorus. Kuronue looks distinctly interested in how the conversation is going. Ani turns a brighter shade of red and mumbles something unintelligible and hides his face in his hands.

"Simply put, we're dating," Kuwabara tells them knowing that this will cause even more reactions from the three demons. A shocked silence fills the room for a few moments before Yoko gets his mouth to work.

"You and Ani are…dating?" he asks. Kuwabara nods grinning wider. From beside him on the back of the couch, Ani lets out what can only be described as a muffled whimper as he's expecting a very bad reaction from his brother.

"When did this happen?" Karasu asks before Oto can open his mouth and say anything.

"We were talking about two hours ago. It just kind of came up," Kuwabara admits. He looks at Ani wondering just what it is he's afraid of and then notices Oto's expression. He finds himself stiffening at the look he's being given. "I will tell you this once, Toguro; you had better watch the next words that come from you because I will not hesitate to hurt you if you upset him." He has no idea where the hell those words came from or why the hell he growls it at Oto but it has its intended affect and Oto keeps quiet. Ani looks up at him in shock. It's now Kuwabara's turn to blush furiously.

"How did you…what was THAT?" the smaller demon asks as he straightens up.

"When I figure that out, I will be glad to tell you," Kuwabara answers rather startled.

"It's probably your demon side," Yoko remarks.

"Wonderful, I growl," Kuwabara grumbles.

"Most people do when they think those that they care about are in trouble." The Kitsune smiles at him. Kuwabara scowls. "Well, it's true. Yusuke's been known to do that when Keiko's in trouble."

"There is growling and then there is growling, Yoko."

"What's the difference?"

"Normal growling sounds natural, what I did sounds…well, evil and threatening."

Yoko chuckles before saying, "That's why I am sure it's your demon side. We have a tendency to sound very evil and aggressive when we think someone we care for is threatened."

"Well, be that as it may, I can't believe he would actually do that to Oto," Karasu comments.

"He was about to say something incredibly stupid to Ani and I was warning him that I wouldn't tolerate it," Kuwabara tells him.

"How could you tell?"

"The look on his face. He has the same expressions Yusuke has and I read him easily. I know what that that expression meant." He feels Ani move on the couch and looks back. The small demon slips off of the couch and disappears out the door. "Poor thing is ill again."

"It's all your fault, you know," Oto comments looking at him. Kuwabara scowls before he realizes that Oto was just teasing him. The burly demon smirks watching the emotions flit across his face.

"Bastard," he grumbles. Oto laughs at that.

"Yes, well, it seems that you might end up related to me so I would get used to it if I were you," the demon chuckles.

"I could endure that…for Ani," he says without thinking. He sees Oto somber quickly and look at him. He stares back.

"Just what is it that you feel for my brother?" the demon asks quietly.

"Why do you want to know?" he returns his own question.

"He's my brother, that's why. I will not allow someone to hurt him…especially someone like you."

"Someone like me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Someone he holds in high regard. He trusts you, Kuwabara. If you hurt him I swear there will be nothing in this or any other world that will protect you from me."

"Oh, and since when do you care about his well-being, Oto? From having watched you two, it never seemed like you really cared about him at all."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, demon!"

Yoko watches in shock as Kuwabara stands up facing Oto who had to be at least four feet taller than him and much, much more muscular. He has no idea what has possessed Kuwabara to do this and he only hopes that the carrot-top doesn't end up dead for it. He looks over at Kuronue and motions for the door. Kuronue takes the hint and slips out in the direction of the room with their children. Yoko slips beside Karasu. "You might want to go keep Ani from coming in here. I don't think he needs to be in the middle of this," he tells the violet-eyed demon. Karasu nods and wordlessly leaves. Yoko moves to the doorway and watches the events unfold.

"What is your issue tonight, Kuwabara?" Oto asks.

"You're the one threatening to hurt me if I do something to Ani. Have you ever thought that you were the reason he was so angry and vengeful throughout the whole damn Dark Tournament? Did you ever listen to him when he was talking to me during our fight? He was angry that you basically ignored him! Gods, the universe doesn't revolve around you, Oto!" Kuwabara snarls back his fists clench and his spirit energy begins to spark around him.

Oto almost looks on the verge of smiling. "Really now, since when does my brother's emotional well-being have anything to do with you?"

"Since I love him, you pretentious bastard!" Kuwabara snaps.

Oto finally gives into the urge and smiles. "Good. That's what I wanted to know."

Kuwabara stares at him for a moment in complete and utter shock. "What the hell just happened?" he asks him. Oto chuckles.

"You passed a test…probably one of the few you have ever managed to," the bulky demon responds. Kuwabara blinks and it takes him a few minutes to realize what the demon is talking about.

"You were deliberately making me angry with you!" he accuses.

"Of course I was. I am not going to let anyone near my brother if I think that they are a danger to him. I wanted to know if you were sincere about this."

"I don't say things I don't mean, Oto!"

"I know, but this is Ani and I don't want anything to happen to him. I might act like an ass sometimes but dammit, I do care about my older brother. He practically raised me on his own."

"Oh."

"He's never had a lover, Kuwabara."

The carrot-top's eyes widen. "What?" he asks faintly.

"He's never had a lover," Oto repeats. Kuwabara takes a moment to digest this information and that's when the truth hits him.

"You mean I was the first to…oh my god," he whispers realizing just what that meant, "I never realized…holy shit!"

"You had better be careful with him because I will make your death painful if you break his heart or endanger his children."

"I won't…gods, I would never live with myself if I did," Kuwabara says softly.

"Are you two arguing?" Ani demands storming in there.

"No," Kuwabara tells him, "Oto was just being a concerned sibling is all."

Ani looks at him closely as if checking to see that he's telling the truth and soon has a satisfied expression. "Good. I wouldn't have been happy with either of you if you were arguing."

Kuwabara changes the subject. "So are you feeling better?" he inquires.

"Yes. At least it seems that I am throwing up less and less," the smaller demon answers.

"Yes, well your increased hormones will more than make up for that, Kuronue says appearing again. This time he has the three little ones.

"I am trying not to think about that, thank you very much," Ani tells him. Kuronue gives him an innocent smile.

"I was just being honest."

"I know you were. I still don't want to think about it. The mood swings I have had have been bad enough."

"Well, you're entitled to them because you are pregnant. I doubt anyone really cares about that."

"Kuronue, I care about that! I hate being so incapable of dealing with anything."

"Hey, it's okay, Ani. None of us mind…well, except Bui but he's an ass and doesn't count," Karasu tells him immediately. Kuwabara chuckles.

"He's more than an ass but we won't get into that conversation, but Karasu is right. We don't mind so much. You are pregnant. We can deal, Ani, honest," the carrot-top tells him.

"Anyone who uses this to blackmail me in the future will face a cruel death by my hands, understand?" the golden-eyed demon demands.

The ones in the room quickly agree, "You had better make sure

Bui understands this."

"He will," Kuwabara assures him. Ani nods looking rather satisfied with the conversation. Kuwabara smiles slightly. How had he not noticed that Ani was rather adorable before? 'Maybe because he was always scowling when you saw him,' his mind answers. That would definitely explain it.

Evening comes and Kuwabara heads out with Ani. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asks.

"Yes. I don't want to spend another minute cooped up in that house with the others. I care for them dearly but there is only so much of them that I want to deal with before I need some fresh air. Plus, I wanted to talk to you privately, and privacy does not exist in that house."

"What exactly did you want to talk to me about?" Kuwabara inquires. Ani looks at him.

"You, of course." He sounds so matter-of-fact that Kuwabara can't help but chuckle.

"That will be a rather boring conversation."

"I don't think so."

"Well I do."

"Let me be the judge of that."

"Okay…I still think that it will be a boring conversation."

Ani chuckles. "I wonder what people will say when they see us sitting at a table together enjoying a meal."

"I only hope that you can keep it down."

"Let's not talk about that right now."

"Okay."

They arrive and the owner looks at them weirdly when they request a table for two in the corner. Ani gives the demon a cold look and he decides that he would rather wonder than get killed by the golden-eyed demon. Both sit across from each other. Kuwabara looks around. "Wow, it's nice in here."

"Yes, this establishment has little patience for really rowdy patrons,"

Ani tells him.

"How many times have you been here?"

"Two or three and mostly because Sakyo was rather fond of the wine they served."

"Interesting."

"Yes, he was a man of as he called it, refined tastes."

"You don't agree?"

"That man was as refined as the ashtray he used."

Kuwabara chuckles. "You really didn't like him did you?"

"No, not at all. I was always really tempted to skewer him but of course, I couldn't. He was a paying client after all."

"Of course. Get the money and THEN kill the idiot."

"That was definitely a thought, but enough about Sakyo. I personally don't want to talk about that pompous wind-bag."

"Okay. So, what do you want to know?"

Ani doesn't get a chance to answer as a very angry voice cuts in. "What the hell are you two doing?" Yusuke demands storming over. Ani looks up at him with a trace of irritancy.

"Having dinner. Do you have a problem with that, Yusuke?" he asks.

"You two are having dinner TOGETHER? I don't think so," the black-haired demon growls.

Kuwabara scowls at him. "Look, Yusuke, we have been over and over this. You have to get over yourself and your grudges because no one else cares. Go away and let us eat in peace," the carrot-top snarls. He is not in the mood to deal with demons and their overtly large egos.

Yusuke doesn't take the hint but the moment he goes to say another word, he's belted across the restaurant. Kuwabara stares at the figure standing there in shock. "What are you doing here, Bui?" he asks.

"Looking out for you two it would seem," the blue-haired axe-wielder answers looking in Yusuke's direction. The brown-eyed demon scowls.

"Since when do you protect him? I didn't think you liked the midget,"

Yusuke spits at him.

"You're confusing Ani with Oto. I might not be able to really stand Oto, but I have no quarrel with Ani. I also don't particularly care for you, either, detective," Bui answers.

The owner approaches. "Gentlemen, I am going to have to ask you both to take this outside," he says. Bui smirks before he moves with lightning speed and he picks Yusuke up by the back of his pants. He holds the demon up and calmly walks to the door before chucking him bodily from the restaurant. He turns around.

"Sorry, I just had to remove the trash," he says to the demon who just shakes his head and walks back to where he had been just moments before. Bui walks back over to the table with Kuwabara and Ani. "You two are going to have fun with that detective once he figures out why you would be sitting at a table for two. I would be very careful."

Ani reacts by hugging him tightly completely startling the axe-wielder and making Kuwabara snicker. Bui looks down at Ani. "Umm…you're welcome…now please, let go, you're scaring me." Kuwabara walks over and pulls him to him still chuckling. "Barking made, the lot of you," the axe-wielder mumbles as he walks to the door, "You two enjoy yourselves and don't do anything improper!"

"Go home, Bui!" Kuwabara calls back to him before pulling Ani into his lap. "You have the craziest teammates I have ever met. That one can't decide whether he likes or hates you."

"I think I prefer him hating me. Then I am not so tempted to hug him," Ani comments as he leans his head on Kuwabara's shoulder. "We are so going to have rumors spread around tomorrow for this."

"I don't mind all that much," Kuwabara answers, "I am not well-known in the Makai so I don't really care…unless of course it bothers you?"

"No, this is one reputation I wouldn't mind having. I just don't think I want them to now the rest of the story."

"They won't. I will make sure that does get out until we are all ready to deal with what that revelation will bring."

Ani looks up at him but doesn't say a word. His golden eyes are swimming with emotion so he just leans his head back down and hides his face against Kuwabara's shoulder. Some how he was going to figure out just what it was he was feeling for the carrot-top. He just wonders what will come of that realization. "Are you all right?" Kuwabara asks concerned.

"Fine," Ani says, his voice muffled from being against his shoulder.

Kuwabara smiles slightly and rests his head atop Ani's. He notices the looks on the other patrons' faces and knows that Ani is right about having rumors spread about the two of them. A wry smile crosses his lips and he wonders how Yusuke will take to figuring out that they were dating. 'Things are only going to get more interesting,' he thinks.


	22. Part Twenty One

Part Twenty-one: Less Morning Sickness, More Mood Swings, a Heightened

Libido, and Almost a Complete Demonic Transformation

Kuwabara has school the next day and dreads going to it knowing that Yusuke is going to confront him. He leaves Ani after kissing the demon softly on the forehead and retucking the blankets around him. The smaller demon lets out a soft distressed sound and it is almost enough to make Kuwabara refuse to leave. "I'm sorry, Ani, I have to go to school," he says. Ani's eyes flutter open slowly.

"You'll come back later?" the demon asks.

"Of course I will. Nothing will stand in the way of me getting to see you."

He sees the soft smile that crosses Ani's lips before the smaller demon curls back up under the blankets. His head is close to Kuwabara's side of the pillow which makes the carrot-top smile before he leaves the room. He quietly descends the staircase and heads for the door.

Ani listens and hears the door shut, a telltale sign that Kuwabara has left.

It makes him feel slightly hollow and empty, a feeling which he's never experienced before. He pulls the blankets tightly around him and forces himself to breath. He'd always prided himself on being a good actor and he is pleased with how well it's going. No one in the house knew, not even Yoko with his advanced sense of smell, that Ani was NOT visiting the bathroom for the purposes of throwing up…not that many times anyway. He might feel nauseous once or twice a day but no more than that. That was not what he was spending time in the bathroom over. The real reason he fled to the bathroom the other thirteen or so times was to alleviate as much as he could, the ache that seemed permanently between his thighs. He is not about to admit to Kuwabara that he can't go more than three minutes without thinking about sex with him. He knows that the carrot-top is not ready to hear such an admission from him. He would be mortified if Kuwabara ever found out because knowing Kuwabara, the carrot-top would be honorable enough to give him what he wants desperately. Ani just wouldn't be able to live with himself if he forced Kuwabara into doing something that the teen didn't want to do. He grits his teeth and tries to ignore the feelings sweeping through his body with little success. Finally, he's forced to slip out from under the blankets and head into the bathroom. 'This is humiliating,' he thinks, 'but at least the others have yet to figure this out. Gods, I don't think I would be able to stand it if Bui was to realize why it is that I am racing to the bathroom at odd times of the day.'

"You know, you can possibly fool everyone here. I was pregnant, too," a voice remarks from behind him. He whirls to find Kuronue standing there. The bat-demon smiles innocently at him. "I also had a few issues starting around my second month."

"Yes, well you also had a mate," Ani comments, "I would appreciate it greatly if you would leave me alone. I don't personally want to listen to you while I have other things on my mind."

"How well is it working for you?" Kuronue asks.

"It works well enough."

"Does it now? You disappear what fifteen or sixteen times?"

"Kuronue, leave!" Ani grits out. He does not feel like having a long drawn-out conversation with the sapphire-eyed male. "Don't you have children to take care of?"

"They are currently sleeping along with Yoko."

"Heaven forbid you need something to occupy your time with. Could you come back in a few hours…please?"

"Hours? It takes you hours to deal with this? You really need to tell Kuwabara."

"He is the last person I am telling this to! He is way too honorable for his own good."

"You don't want to force him…ah, I see. You care for him dearly don't you?"

"Could we talk about this LATER?"

"All right, all right, but we WILL talk about this. It isn't good for you to be running around like this."

"Fine, whatever, we'll talk later." He sighs watching the bat-demon slip from the room. There was nothing he wanted to avoid more then talking to THAT demon. He sighs and walks over to the door before pushing it closed and locking it this time. He walks back over to the porcelain toilet and sits down. He really, really hates this. 'I hope you are having a better day, Kuwabara,' he thinks.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kuwabara walks to school knowing that he is going to face twenty questions from Yusuke about last night. He just doesn't know how he's going to answer any of them without endangering himself or Ani in the process. The green-clad teen is waiting for him leaning against the wall. "What the hell were you doing last night?" he demands.

"Having dinner with Ani," Kuwabara responds calmly. He would give Yusuke no more information than necessary to answer his questions.

"Why were you having dinner with Ani?"

"Because we were hungry and Ani was tired of being cooped up inside."

"Why didn't the others come?"

"They didn't want to eat out."

"You are a horrible liar; you do know that, right?"

"Look, Yusuke, I don't want to talk to you about this. I am tired of having to defend myself at every turn because you seem to think that there is something going on that I should be worried about. I can take care of myself. I have aptly proved that throughout my career as a Spirit Detective. I don't need a baby-sitter."

"Kuwabara, I don't know why it hasn't registered that the demon you are spending a lot of time with is the same one that tried to KILL you! I don't get what it is that you see in him that makes you believe that he's capable of changing. He's EVIL!"

"No, Yusuke, he's not! I am not about to listen to you speak on someone you know so little about! I want you to stay out of things that don't concern you and Ani and I would be in that category!"

"Are you dating him? Please Kuwabara; prove to me that you aren't stupid enough to becoming romantically attached to the demon."

"Call me stupid if you want to, Urameshi, but that plea is too little too late, I'm afraid." He continues walking until Yusuke grabs him by his arm.

"You are DATING that creep? Kuwabara why would you do that?"Kuwabara feels a strange sensation well up through him and an even stranger feeling washes through him. His lip curves into a snarl. "You listen to me, Urameshi, what I choose to do is none of your business. If I fall in love with Ani Toguro that is my choice NOT yours! You can either accept that or don't ever speak to me again, I don't care. But you WILL NOT stand there and insult MY LOVER in front of me!" His voice has taken on a deeper, more menacing quality and is scares Kuwabara slightly.

"What the hell?" Yusuke asks.

Kuwabara swallows and forces down the murderous rage that spirals through him. He knows one thing; there is no way he'll be able to go to school in this sort of mood. He turns sharply, and without answering Yusuke, heads back to the portal to the Makai. He walks towards the house wondering if his mood will lessen or whether he needs to avoid

being near Ani for a while.

He walks into the house and finds the smaller demon sitting on the windowsill looking at the backyard. He turns hearing footsteps. "Kuwabara?" the golden-eyed demon asks softly.

Instantly Kuwabara's aware of something. He tilts his head looking quizzically at Ani trying to figure out what it is he's sensing. Moving closer, it becomes stronger. It was an almost enticing scent that was wafting from the smaller demon. "Kuwabara?" Ani asks again wondering about the change in the carrot-top. That's when he notices his eyes.

They were bright violet. He swallows realizing that Kuwabara was close to finishing his transformation. At a second glance he realizes that the carrot-top also has fangs. This was getting really interesting. He only wonders why Kuwabara was looking at him oddly and…sniffing? Ani's golden-eyes widen as he realizes what the carrot-top was doing.

'His senses have been heightened…oh gods, he knows that something is different about me but he can't figure it out…this isn't good,' he thinks slightly panicked. The closer that Kuwabara gets, the more of a chance he has of actually figuring out what was different about him and he doesn't know if he wants to watch his reaction to that sort of realization.

Once Kuwabara is standing in front of him, he realizes what it is he's sensing. He leans close to Ani inhaling his scent and smiles. "You're aroused, aren't you?" he purrs. Ani trembles.

"N-no," he whispers knowing how obvious that lie is.

Kuwabara chuckles. "Don't lie. I can smell it. When were you planning on tell me this?"

"I wasn't. I didn't think that you needed to know that I wanted you…badly. The last time you were with me because you didn't want to end up dead at sixteen. I don't want you to make a decision that you will regret for the rest of your life."

"What makes you think that I will regret this for the rest of my life?"

"I don't think I need to remind you that I have been your hated enemy. We know little to nothing about the other and I don't want you to…" Kuwabara silences him with a hot kiss while pulling him towards him. It has the desired affect and Ani slips his arms around his neck deepening the kiss and letting him pick him up.

Kuwabara carries Ani upstairs to his room. "Where are the others?" he murmurs.

"Yoko, Kuronue, and Karasu went shopping for the little ones. I have no idea why Karasu agreed, but that's not the point. Bui and my brother are out training," he answers, "Why?"

"I don't particularly want them coming into the room anytime soon, that's all," Kuwabara answers smiling down at him.

"Kuwabara, you don't have to do this."

"I know that. I WANT to do this."

Ani looks at him incredulously. "You want to do this?"

"That's what I said."

"You WANT to do this?"

"Ani, you're a shoulder-monkey, not a parrot. Yes, I want to do this."

"Don't call me that!"

"What, shoulder-monkey or parrot?"

"You know!"

Kuwabara chuckles. "Maybe I do, but I always thought the nickname worked."

"It was a shocking display of brilliance on your part coming up with that.""You're teasing me."

"Wow, did you realize that all on your own?"

Kuwabara realizes that his anger has completely dissipated in Ani's presence. He smiles at the demon cradle carefully in his arms. "Yes, I can use my brain, you know."

"I was just checking. You do realize that you have fangs don't you?"

"I have fangs?"

"Yes and violet eyes. You've almost completed your transformation. Why did you come back?"

"Yusuke pissed me off to the point where I was growling and thinking that ripping his throat out would be fun. Do I really have fangs and violet-eyes?"

"Look in the mirror and tell me."

Kuwabara walks over to the mirror and sure enough, his eyes have changed and he DOES have fangs. Ani smiles at him. "See, I told you."

"Oh, be quiet."

"Make me."

"Do you really want me to?"

"I don't see you having success with that endeavor but you are welcome to try."

Kuwabara smirks as if that is exactly the thing he was waiting for Ani to say. Within a few brief moments, Ani finds himself stripped and laid out on the bed. He looks up at Kuwabara shocked and slightly startled. "Well, you did say to try," Kuwabara murmurs looking down at him. For a few minutes he just drinks in the sight of the smaller demon's nude body. Ani was incredibly sexy for being as small as he is. Kuwabara licks his lips and he watches as Ani blushes as a certain part of his body broadcasts its pleasure over that reaction.

Ani soon finds himself the recipient of a hot mouth over his nipples. One at a time, Kuwabara gently licks suck and nips at them making him mewl and arch; his body is like putty in the carrot-top's hands. He watches as Kuwabara slowly explores lower down his body nearer to the place he wants him the most. His thighs spread as Kuwabara kneels between them. The carrot-top looks up at him, his eyes back to their normal blue, before his head dips down and the most delightful heat engulfs his aching flesh. He arches and cries out as Kuwabara starts to slowly suck on him.

Kuwabara finds himself greatly enjoying the sounds coming from Ani not to mention how the demon tastes and feels beneath him. He draws from the memory of their forced encounter and teases the smaller demon for a bit before finally granting him the release he's been craving. He drinks very drop of the demon's essence and watches him shiver and catch his breath. "You accomplished your goal…to an extent," Ani murmurs.

Kuwabara chuckles. "I got you to stop talking, that's true but I don't think you shut up."

"I have no idea why that might have been, Kazuma, why don't you enlighten me?" Ani teases.

"Hmm, maybe that was because you were to busy sounding like a kitten while I was teasing you."

"I do NOT sound like a kitten."

"Yes you do."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

Ani scowls. "Bite me," he grumbles. Kuwabara smirks at him before he leans up and gently bites his neck. "I wasn't serious!" Ani yelps. Kuwabara smirks.

"Oops, I thought you were."

"Demon."

"I am turning into one, that's true."

"Don't get an ego. Don't we have enough egotists without adding you to the list?"

"Why in the world would I get an ego?"

"Because you are a teenager. You all tend to get egos for no good reason."

Kuwabara smiles at him charmingly. "I am not egotistical."

"Yes, yes you are."

"Are we actually having a conversation while you are splayed out on the bed, naked, and in a rather tempting position?"

Kuwabara's change in topic makes Ani chuckle. "Horny male," he murmurs fondly.

"Look who's talking."

"Hey, I'm pregnant! What's your excuse?"

"I'm a teenage male. We're all walking hormone time-bombs."

"Kuwabara…"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and DO something!"

"Ooh, someone's impatient!"

"It's not my fault I want you constantly. It's this damn pregnancy. Give me a break and don't make me beg you."

"I don't know…the thought of you begging me IS rather tempting…"

"KUWABARA!"

"All right, all right, don't throw a fit. Boy, you really AREN'T in the mood for discussing this are you? Pushy demon. I have never met a demon who acts like you do when they are horny."

"Kuwabara, you have NEVER seen a horny demon. Would you please stop analyzing the situation and start removing your clothes BEFORE I do something I may or may not regret?"

Kuwabara chuckles but does as Ani wants and slips his clothes off. He stares at the demon splayed out across the bed and smiles. Ani was something else when he was desperate. His skin is still flushed from his orgasm and his golden eyes are dark with need. Kuwabara has never seen someone more desirable in his life. He quickly gets to preparing the smaller demon knowing that if he doesn't move fast, Ani is NOT going to be a happy pregnant male and Kuwabara doesn't want to see him through a fit induced by sex denial.

Finally, Kuwabara sinks into his body and Ani arches desperate to feel him fill him. "Whoa, easy there, you don't want to hurt yourself," Kuwabara cautions.

"Kuwabara, I'm unwarded, I am not going to hurt myself," Ani grits out as he rocks his hips sharply against him. "Oooh, yess."

Kuwabara lets out his own soft groan as he settles all the way in Ani. The demon was so tight and hot that he almost climaxes right then and there but manages through strong will power, to keep himself from doing so. Slowly, he begins to move his hips claiming every square inch of Ani. The shorter demon arches and meets him thrust for thrust.

It isn't long until they are lost within their own passions and moving helplessly against the other. The entire world seems to melt away leaving only the feelings washing through them. In the back of their minds, they both know that they will have to face their decision come later on but both are content to put that off for these moments of pleasure.


	23. Part Twenty Two

Part Twenty-Two: Trouble

It is evening before Kuwabara ventures from the room to call Shizuru. Luckily, no one has returned yet so he doesn't have to face their knowledge of him skipping school. He dials his home and waits. "Hello?" Shizuru asks.

"Hey, sis, it's me," Kuwabara answers hoping that she doesn't start yelling.

"I got a call that you didn't come to school today, Kazuma. Did something come up?"

"Yes, Yusuke pissed me off and I almost turned into a demon in the Ningenkai. I had to come back here."

"You could have called me earlier."

"I was…sleeping."

"All afternoon?"

"Umm…yeah."

"Kazuma, why do I get the feeling that you aren't telling me something?"

"Ani and I are…dating."

"Way to go, little brother! I am so happy for you."

"Yeah, well, Yusuke is probably not too happy about this."

"Well, he can get over it. Is there a reason that you have been sleeping?"

"Could I not answer that?"

"Nope. I want the details, baby-bro."

"I came back and Ani was…well, let's just say Ani with a heightened libido is the reason I have been sleeping all day."

"You were in bed with Ani?"

"You could say that."

"Can I have a bit more information then that?"

"No! You are not going to hear of my sex-life, Shizuru!"

"Oh, come on, baby-brother, it can't be that embarrassing!"

"It's not embarrassing! Actually it was very enjoyable but that is NOT the point. What Ani and I do is NONE of your business."

Shizuru chuckles. "You'll eventually tell me. You always do."

"Whatever. I was just calling to make sure you knew I was still alive."

"Obviously. So about your demon form, what do you look like?"

"I am not quite sure. All I know is that I have violet-eyes, fangs, and heightened senses."

"So that's how you knew.'

"Yes, I smelled it. It was very pleasant, might I add…well, that is none of your business."

"All right. You should come home for a little bit but I am not about to drag you from your boyfriend. If Yusuke comes over there be ready for a fight."

"You had better believe that I would be ready for a fight. I'll probably end up ripping his throat out."

"Kazuma!"

"I'm being serious here. I have this deep need to kill him every time he says something about Ani."

"Just keep as calm as you can and behave yourself. Your lover is pregnant."

"He's the horny one, Shizuru." He just hears her laugh before he hangs up. After he hangs the phone up, he hears the front door open. He walks to the foyer and finds Yoko, Kuronue, and Karasu walking in. Each is carrying bags and one of the little ones. "Wow, you guys have been busy."

"Yes, well the little ones are going to take a lot of work and there is no reason we can't prepare for Ani and Itsuki's little ones," Yoko says, "Have they stopped by? They left this morning to collect their things and move into the empty third wing."

"I am not sure," Kuwabara answers hoping that they hadn't. If they had…well, hopefully they would be discreet enough not to say a word.

"Nope, we hadn't returned," a voice calls from outside, "Itsuki wanted to…play."

"Shinobu!" Ituski yells furiously from behind him, "That is not something you speak about in public!" The teal-haired Yaminade walks in with a bag glaring at his lover. Shinobu chuckles.

"Sorry, Itsuki. It was a lot more polite than what Kazuya wanted to say about it," the dark haired man apologizes. From the crimson color Itsuki turns, it is obvious just who "played" with the golden-eyed demon. Kuwabara chuckles at his expression and Itsuki turns towards him.

"You might think it's funny now but just you wait until he gets horny," the demon remarks. Kuwabara tries, and fails to hide his own blush.

"What is this? Kuwabara, did something happen this afternoon?" Yoko asks.

"No, this morning," Kuwabara admits.

"What do you mean this morning?"

"Yusuke pissed me off and I almost completely turned into a demon in the middle of the street and since I was really tempted to rip Yusuke's jugular, I decided to return here. Ani was sitting in the windowsill looking outside and when I came in and he turned to face me, well, I sensed something. I think you can take the rest from there."

"You had sex with my brother?" Oto asks walking in from the back of the house. Kuwabara looks at him.

"Yes," he answers.

"Where is he?"

"Still sleeping."

"That's why he kept taking trips to the bathroom," Kuronue interjects helpfully, "He didn't want to tell Kuwabara because he feared forcing him into doing something he would later regret."

"That would be something my brother would do," Oto comments.

"So, you almost completed your transformation in the Ningenkai? That isn't good. You might need to stay in the Makai until you have finished and can retain your human appearance better," Yoko remarks.

"I don't know how long that will take and I am not returning for a few months after my children are born. I might not even finish my transformation until the children are born."

"Then it might be time to sever all human ties," the silver-haired kitsune says softly. Kuwabara looks at him. "I mean that you can still call Shizuru but you should stay here in the Makai."

"You have a point. I am going to have to stay here eventually anyway so I guess this as good a time as any. I don't think I have much at home I am going to miss…not since Eikichi was put to sleep. That was rather difficult. It's kind of funny that the thing that hurts worse is not going through Sensui and another Tournament, it was having to put my cat to sleep."

"A testament to your humanity," Yoko answers.

"Or just me being absolutely pathetic."

"You are not pathetic, Kazuma," Ani says from the stairs. The demon yawns as he walks down.

"Well, good evening, brother, feeling rested?" Oto teases.

"Yes…a little bit. Where's Bui? Please don't tell me that you left him unconscious at the arena."

"Actually, Bui took off a few hours ago without telling me where he was going. I am not too sure where he went but it was quite sudden."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean around lunch time, he suddenly got this rather strange expression, apologized for having to leave unexpectedly and took off before I could require as to what needed his immediate attention."

"Okay, that is…interesting. Since when does Bui have something so pressing that he doesn't finish a training session with you?"

Kuwabara turns his attention from Ani to Karasu who looks slightly disturbed. The violet-eyed demon looks at Yoko. "You might want to check on Hiei," he says softly.

"What?" the silver-haired fox asks.

"You might want to check on Hiei. That is the only reason I can think of that he would leave that fast," Karasu responds. Yoko raises an eyebrow.

"Just do it, fox!"

"Okay, okay, jeez, you're pushy, bomb-wielder," the fox grumbles as he picks up the phone and dials Genkai's number. He waits for a few minutes wondering why no one has answered. When an automated message states that the phone has been temporarily disconnected, he grows alarmed and hangs up the phone. "No one picked up."

"I'll go to her temple," Kuwabara says, "You have your hands full."

"Are you sure?" Yoko asks.

"Yes, yes I am."

"I'm going with him," Oto says calmly noticing the look on his brother's face. Kuwabara goes to argue but he also sees Ani's expression and realizes that the demon won't let him go anywhere unless he feels he's adequately protected.

"Let's go then,' Kuwabara says heading out the door. He is hoping that maybe Genkai had forgotten to pay the phone bill but something tells him that it is not that simple.

Both quickly head out of the portal in an alley and race out onto the streets. Neither bother to apologize to the pedestrians they shove out of their path. They make it to the temple within ten minutes…well, what was left of the temple. Both quickly peruse the grounds looking for either Genkai or Hiei. The charred rubble scattered revealed that a fight had obviously broken out. "Dammit, where is everyone?" Kuwabara growls as their search is rendered fruitless.

"They have either been burned alive or have been captured," Oto answers surveying the damage, "I would just like to know where the hell Bui is at." As he says this, a glint of metal catches his attention and he walks over. Reaching down, he lifts up the part of a blade. He knows the style well enough to realize what it's from. "Bui was here. Obviously there was a struggle. I can only surmise that anyone here was kidnapped. I just wonder what the purpose for such a thing could be…and I hope that the bodies of those captured don't turn up on our doorstep for no other reason than demonic cruelty."

"As do I," Kuwabara murmurs, "As do I."


	24. Part Twenty Three

Author's Note: And the plot thickens! The story will now shift to focusing on more than just Kuwabara although he is a main character along with his beloved boyfriend, Ani. So, if the story switches back and forth from several characters, well, you shouldn't be too surprised because I am warning you ahead of time! Enjoy.

Part twenty-three: Vengeance Plotted

When he returns, Kuwabara immediately calls Koenma without pausing to say anything to the others. He waits impatiently for an ogre to pick up. "Hello, how may I help you?"

"I need to speak to Koenma, NOW!" Kuwabara says sharply, "If you give me some bullshit about him not wanting to talk to anyone, I will personally come to that office and kill everyone there!" He almost smiles hearing the telltale click that heralded him being forwarded to Koenma. He knows that the prince is probably not going to be happy about him threatening his ogres but he had to talk to him immediately.

"Is there a reason you felt it necessary to threaten my office?" Koenma demands as soon as he picks up.

"I needed to talk to you immediately and I didn't want to hear them say that you didn't want to talk to anyone unless it was important."

"So, what is wrong?"

"Hiei, Bui, and Genkai are missing. What do you know about this?"

"What?"

"You heard me, prince. They are MISSING and if I find out you had something to do with this, there will be no where in any of the three worlds that you will be safe from me!"

"You think I had something to do with this?"

"What else should I think? You already tried to kill Ani. You are not high on my list of people to think well of."

"I didn't do anything to them. I wasn't aware that something had happened."

"That's the problem isn't it? You never pay attention unless it involves you directly do you? Whatever, you just had better hope that you are telling the truth because if I find out otherwise, you WILL BE DEAD!" Without waiting for an answer, he hangs up the phone.

"I take it from your reaction that Koenma says he isn't responsible for what happened at Genkai's temple, didn't he?" Oto inquires.

"Yeah. He just better not be or I will make good on my promise. I don't know anyone else that could be the cause and that worries me," Kuwabara answers.

"What's going on?" Yoko demands.

"They weren't at the temple. When Kuwabara and I arrived, it was obvious a fight had broken out. The place was completely charred," Oto answers.

"You don't think Hiei summoned the dragon do you?" the fox-demon inquires.

"If he did than it wasn't very effective, was it?" the burly demon remarks. Yoko doesn't want to think about what that could mean.

"It seems that the only thing that can be done is to wait and see what happens and hope that we don't receive their bodies," Kuwabara mutters.

"That sounds really optimistic," Yoko says.

"It wasn't supposed to, Yoko, it is an honest statement."

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"You can't…it's not for my protection but yours!" Bui says as his armor is removed, "Dammit, you are going to die if you do this!" The demons ignore him of course and soon, the blue-haired demon is completely divested of his armor. Immediately his spirit energy swirls around him in a sea of green. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," Bui grits out trying to keep it from harming the other two in the room.

"Have you not yet learned how to control it?" Hiei demands looking at him.

"Isn't the answer obvious?" Bui growls back.

"Hiei, don't push your luck," Genkai warns sensing that Bui's control was slipping, "Stay calm, Bui. You can't control your power if you can't control your emotions."

Bui grits his teeth holding it back. Why didn't the bastards just ward him? It would make things so much easier and less painful on him. He bites his lip and focuses on keeping the energy close to himself. 'You can do this. You won't hurt them. You can do this,' he repeats to himself over and over and over again.

Footsteps come down the hall but the blue-haired demon ignores them in favor of trying not to kill Genkai and Hiei who are both warded and powerless to defend themselves against any attack. He feels the skin on his lip tear and tastes the blood. "Ouch, that looks painful," a voice remarks smoothly. It was obviously a male but Bui still doesn't look up. "You are awfully impolite, Bui."

It is only the fact that the demon knew his name that causes him to look up. He looks at the demon. "Who are you and how you do you know me?" he demands.

"Is that really important?" the demon inquires stepping into the room. It is a kitsune with long brown hair and deep golden-eyes.

"Yes, it is important. What do you want with us?"

"Well, it's simple really. You are all bait."

"For who?" Bui demands. The Kitsune smirks.

"An old…friend of mine and someone I want dead," the fox-demon says smirking.

"I am guessing that one is Yoko Kurama," Bui retorts.

"Well, partially, you are correct. That's what those two are here for," the demon answers, "but you, you dear Bui are the bait for someone entirely different."

"Who?"

"Guess."

"I would say the Toguro Brothers but I don't understand why you would want them."

"It's more Ani than Oto. That midget terror is going to be sorry he was ever born."

"What did he do to make you hate him?"

"That little bastard killed my entire family! I will see him pay for it…dearly."

"He killed…oh that must have been when he was being paid for assassinating demons."

"Yes, and I had to watch as that twisted psycho killed my mom and dad!" The anger and rage tinged with slight insanity in the demon's voice tells Bui that the demon was incredibly dangerous.

"Look, I know that he's done some horrible things but he's changed…honest," Bui says struggling to keep his energy from fluctuating and seriously injuring Hiei and Genkai. He's pretty sure that Oto will never forgive him if Genkai gets hurt and he doesn't want to risk hurting Hiei.

"Do you think I care? He's going to pay for taking my family…just

as Kuronue is going to pay for taking Yoko. I will see to it."


	25. Part Twenty Four

Part Twenty-four: More Surprises 

Two days pass before letters arrive for both Ani and Yoko. Both demons look at the envelopes warily wondering why they were both receiving something and open it. Ani reads his and his golden-eyes widen to the size of saucers. "Oh no," he murmurs, "I should have known…dammit!"

"What is it?" Oto asks.

"You remember one of our first clients, the one who will never admit to paying us for killing a demon?" Ani returns his own question.

"Yes, I remember that."

"The young child I spared grew up. He's after revenge."

"You're kidding!"

"I wish I was. Gods, I am going to kill that idiot! He should have known better than to just order those demons dead knowing that there was a child involved!"

"You knew him?" Yoko asks.

"Yes, we were paid to assassinate his parents," Ani answers.

"Oh, well so did I. He had a rather large crush on me and when I fell in love with Kuronue well…I guess he didn't take that too well."

"Obviously," Kuwabara say, "Is he a Kitsune?"

"Yes, yes he is," Yoko responds before turning towards Ani and asking, "Who had you assassinate his parents?"

Ani looks away for a moment before responding. "Koenma," he says softly. Those in the room stare at him stunned.

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After two days of forcing his spirit energy to stay at low levels, Bui feels like he's being shredded. He has never had to control it to the extent of keeping other people safe…that's why he always wore his armor. 'I guess I can be thankful in that when this is all over with I probably won't need my armor,' he thinks. He knows that the alternative is to kill Hiei and Genkai, which he adamantly refuses to do. He lets out another soft cry of pain as it becomes too hard to hold it in. "Focus, Bui, I know it hurts," Genkai says. She has become quite concerned watching the demon struggle so hard to keep from hurting them.

"Having fun?" the fox-demon sneers upon entering the cell. Bui doesn't respond.

"Why don't you ward him?" Genkai asks.

"Because I am enjoying watching him suffer. He dared to actually injure me during our fight," he answers.

"I can't help getting defensive when you're attacking people I care about," the axe-wielder grits out.

"Well, that was your mistake," the demon retorts snidely.

"Go…to…hell," he spits out viciously. That earns him a stinging slap to his face a momentary lapse in controlling his powers. He manages to snap his energy back mere inches from Genkai and Hiei and he lets out a sharp cry at the backlash that he receives for that move.

"You really should watch your tongue," Hiei comments. Bui doesn't say anything as he refocuses all his attention on his aura. He doesn't see the point in getting mad at anyone. 'I need to stay in check or I am liable to get everyone killed!' he thinks.


	26. Part Twenty Five

Part Twenty-five: Ryan

"Why would Koenma want you to kill them?" Yoko asks.

"They were hired assassins and made it quite clear that they wanted Koenma dead. My brother and I were newly turned and decided that we would take this case. I don't think I ever had a week where I didn't sleep at all except during that time," Ani answers.

"So they had a son?"

"Yes, yes they did. I couldn't bear the thought of killing him so I told him to run…fast. He took my suggestion and fled like a bat out of hell."

"So, now he wants to punish you for doing that AND he wants to get revenge on Yoko for spurning him and Kuronue for being Yoko's lover? Man, why can't anyone have a decent reason for going on rampages?" Kuwabara grumbles.

"Because that would involve the person in question being decent, which often is NOT the case with demons," Oto responds.

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Koenma sighs as he goes through more stacks of papers. He really hated all this work, but it came with his job. He picks up a bound book hidden under some papers. 'Might as well find out about the man behind the money,' he thinks. He had been putting off looking through Sakyo's personal items but he knew it had to be done incase he had someone else waiting in the wings to try and destroy of the human race. He opens it and begins to read.

Most of it was inane ramblings made by a man who was obviously very twisted, but a passage catches his eyes. He reads it once, twice, and a third time before it finally sinks in just what it is he's reading. 'He already HAD a child?' he thinks in shock, 'What the hell? How could I have missed…he didn't know. Oh dear, this complicates things.' He closes the book and rubs his temples. Ani had a son…a three-year-old half-demon son named Ryan. He had had this child three weeks before the Dark Tournament but hadn't remembered anything…including the fact that Sakyo had gotten him pregnant. The child was now three. Koenma decides he'd better find him before someone else did and did something horrible to him…if they hadn't already.

To his delight, he finds that Ryan is safe in an orphanage. The child obviously takes after his mother as he is very delicate and small with black hair and large almond eyes the same golden as Ani's. The child was undeniably cute. "Botan!" he calls as he continues watching the small boy.

"Yes, Koenma, sir?" the blue-haired reaper chirps as she enters.

"I need you to go to an orphanage and bring me a child," he tells her.

"Is the child dead?"

"No, he's very much alive."

"Then why do you want him?"

"Because he's the son of Sakyo and Ani Toguro!"

"What? I thought Ani was pregnant by Kuwabara."

"Yes, but it seems Sakyo got him pregnant before the Dark Tournament. Ani doesn't know because Sakyo had all his memories of that incident erased."

"Then why do you want the child?"

"Because I want to place Ryan back with his mother."

"Wouldn't that be a recipe for disaster?"

"Botan, just go and get him!"

Botan recognizes the prince's tone and immediately salutes before all but racing out of the door. Koenma sighs and gets a piece of paper and a pen. He was going to have to write a note to Ani to explain this. He isn't too sure if the smaller demon will be able to take the news but that really wasn't his problem.

Botan sighs as she arrives at the orphanage. She is worried about the effects such a revelation will have not only on Ani but on Kuwabara as well. 'I hope you two can get through this,' she thinks, 'I really hope you can work this one out.' Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she heads inside to see if she could easily get Ryan out of there without having to resort to using her oar. The minute she sees the child, though, her heart absolutely melts. 'I'll say this, any child of Ani is going to be cute,' she thinks walking over to where the owner is sitting. "Umm, excuse me, sir, but I was wondering if anyone had spoken for that cute little angel in the corner," she says pointing at Ryan. The man looks at him and then back at her.

"Lady, no one wants to go near that one. He's too small. If you want him, you can take him," he answers in an almost bored tone, "It's no skin off my back."

Botan bristles at his tone but remains courteous. "I do want him," she tells him.

"Then just take him. He's not worth anything." Botan thanks the man though deep down she's imagining all the ways Ani would torture the idiot if he ever heard that. She walks over to Ryan and stoops down beside him.

"Hello, sweetheart," she says. The child looks up at her from where he's playing with a car, his large golden eyes making him look so sweetly innocent.

"Hi," he says shyly with a timid smile.

"I was sent here to get you so that you could be given back to your mommy," she tells him. He looks at her.

"My mommy?" he asks.

"Yes, I am here to take you to a nice young man who is going to take you to your mommy. Would you like that?" Ryan nods and Botan gently picks him up. He was so light and fragile-looking that it wasn't hard to believe that he was Ani's son. She walks out the door with him before summoning her oar in her other hand. "Have you ever wanted to fly, Ryan?" she asks.

"Yeah, lotsa times but I can't."

"Well, you can now. Hold on tightly to me," she says as she sits on her oar. The minute it starts rising Ryan starts giggling and enjoying himself immensely. Botan smiles. 'You deserve the best, little one,' she thinks, 'and somehow I know that the best includes your biological mother.'

Botan arrives with the giggling child and brings him to Koenma. "Here you go, one sweet little Toguro," she announces. Koenma, who is in his teenage form, looks at him. He can't help the soft smile when he sees him. 'Well, I can say this for Ani, his kids are going to be cute,' he thinks.

"Thank you, Botan. You didn't have much trouble getting him out, did you?"

"No, I actually got him without doing anything at all. Seems no one wanted to deal with such a fragile-looking child. Their loss."

"Well, maybe not. He is half-demon. When he grows up he'll have abilities that normal people won't be able to handle," Koenma tells her.

"Huh?" Ryan asks looking sweetly confused.

"Don't worry about it, little-one, your mother will tell you when you're older," Koenma tells him. He picks up an envelope from his desk before walking over and taking Ryan. "Speaking of your, mom, let's go surprise him."

"Him?" Now Ryan is even more confused.

"Yes, him. Your mom is a male," Koenma answers.

"Oh," Ryan says taking it in stride.

"Obviously, he takes after Ani well," Botan remarks. Koenma nods.

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When the doorbell rings, it startles everyone. "I'll get it," Oto says

recovering almost instantly. He heads to the foyer rather confident that it wasn't their enemy because if the demon was intelligent, which it seemed he was, he wouldn't ring the doorbell. He opens the door to find…Koenma. "What do you want?" he asks before seeing the small child in the prince's arms. Even he can guess as to part of his parentage and his brown eyes widen.

"Oto, meet your nephew Ryan. Ryan, this is your uncle Oto. Your mom is his brother," Koenma says.

"Hi," Ryan greets smiling sweetly at him.

"Hello," Oto says faintly looking from him to Koenma and back.

"The note should answer all Ani's questions. If not then have Kuwabara call me," the prince says before gently depositing Ryan in his arms, handing him the note, and disappearing without another word or waiting for him to speak. Oto looks down at the small child in his arms.

"Well, let's go and talk to your…mother," he says after a moment of looking like a fish out of water. Ryan giggles. 'This isn't good…why would my brother have had a child and not tell me about it? Who's the father of this one?' he wonders as he heads back into the living room.

"Brother who was at the do…" Ani stops mid-sentence as he sees the young boy cradled in the crook of one of his brother's arms.

"I am hoping that you can explain to me why it is that you had a child and never said a word," Oto says making an effort to stay calm.

"But I haven't," Ani answers looking honestly confused. Oto hands him the letter and looks at him. Wondering what the hell is going on, he opens it to read the note.

_Ani,_

_This will probably be a very big shock for you but the child I have sent is yours. Three weeks before the Dark Tournament you gave birth to a son who was christened Ryan. The father, however, erased all your memories of these events as well as the encounter that lead to your pregnancy. The father of the child is the late Sakyo. I discovered this when I read his journal. I don't know whatelse to tell you but I sincerely hope that you take in your son._

_Koenma _

Ani's eyes widen to the size of saucers as he reads it. "Oh. My. God," he breathes, "How could he have…oh gods!"

"Brother?" Oto asks worriedly.

"He's my son because of Sakyo. He was born a few weeks prior to the Dark Tournament," Ani says softly, "He then erased my memories of all of this."

"Wait, so you're telling me that you don't remember getting pregnant by Sakyo?" Oto asks.

"Yes, yes I am…how could this have happened…I don't understand."

"Well, you can worry about that later. Right now, let's deal with what we are going to do about Ryan," Oto says. Ani nods before walking up to him. Oto gently deposits Ryan into his arms.

"Hello, Ryan," Ani says softly. The child smiles.

"Are you my mommy?" he asks.

"Yes, I am your mother," the demon answers, "and you are extremely cute." Ryan giggles at this and Ani can't help but smile. Then he turns to see Kuwabara standing there looking at him and suddenly worries about the carrot-top's reaction.

"Well, welcome to the family, Ryan," he says. Ryan looks at him curiously. "I'm your mom's…boyfriend." Ani feels relief flood through him as he realizes that the carrot-top was making an attempt to accept this.


	27. Part Twenty Six

Part Twenty-six: Kidnapped

Ryan is soon tucked in upstairs and Ani returns to the living room looking absolutely flabbergasted. "What the hell?" he mutters more to himself then anyone, "Why hadn't I figured out that something wasn't right?"

"If he erased your memories, then there really isn't a reason to blame you for not knowing about him," Yoko points out.

"Still, that shouldn't have been an easy task. I am psychic."

"Well, obviously he knew that and took it into account. You can't blame yourself for this, Ani," Karasu tells him, "That will definitely serve no useful purpose here." The smaller demon glares at him. "I mean it, Ani. You aren't to blame."

"I still wish I knew how this happened!" he snaps.

"Of course you do, but don't get yourself all upset over it," Kuwabara cuts in, "Yoko and Karasu are right, it's not your fault."

"I don't know that!"

Kuwabara sighs. He can understand Ani's irritation at the situation because honestly, he is still flabbergasted that the smaller demon had a son with Sakyo. 'Why do I think that rape was somehow involved,' the carrot-top thinks to himself, 'Maybe it's best that Ani DOESN'T remember.'

Oto is quietly sitting on the couch in just as much shock. How the hell did Sakyo manage to pull this off without any of them knowing? Well, actually it wouldn't have been that hard because he spent most of the time training and hadn't seen much of his brother except for that episode with Tarukane but in all honesty, he wasn't paying much attention to the state his brother was in. 'He must have been about three months along since that was six months before the tournament…how much DID I ignore my brother?' he wonders. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Kuwabara pull the smaller demon into his arms. Ani rests his head on his shoulder and closes his eyes. 'At least Kuwabara seems to be taking this well.' Had the carrot-top reacted badly to the news even though Oto could understand his reasons, he still would have ended up smacked around the room.

A few hours later, Ryan creeps back into the room. "Hello, little man,"

Ani says from the armrest on the couch. The child's golden eyes light up and he walks over, a bit wobbly. Ani reaches down and pulls him up onto his lap. "Enjoy your rest?"

"Mmmhmm," Ryan answers. Ani smiles. The child was just too cute!

He gently ruffles the child's hair. "Why didn' you come sooner?" Ryan asks suddenly, "Didn't you want me?"

"It's complicated, sweetheart. Of course I want you!"

"Then why didn' you come get me?"

Ani doesn't know how to answer him. He has no idea how one told a young child that they had their memories modified. "A bad person made him forget about you," Kuwabara says softly, "Had he known, he would have immediately come and gotten you."

Ryan looks at Kuwabara. "A bad man?"

"Your father. He wasn't nice. He made your mommy forget that he had a little boy. It's not his fault."

Ryan hugs Ani tightly. "I's sorry. I didn' know."

"It's alright. You're here now and that's all that matters," Ani whispers cradling the smaller body to his. Ryan snuggles into his lap and rests his head on his shoulder. Ani closes his eyes wishing he knew what had happened between him and Sakyo that resulted in the sweet child he was currently cradling.

Night falls all too soon and the house goes silent and dark. Once the moon is hidden behind dark clouds does a shadowy figure creep onto the property. It is not long before another joins the first. Both make their way to the house and silently leap to the third story balcony. Peering in, they find their targets nestled together on the bed. Years of being thieves should have alerted them to the danger almost immediately but both are too exhausted from taking care of their children and never even notice when they are separated and taken from the room. The cloaked figures vanish with their targets into the night.

Karasu is woken up by incessant wailing. Groggily, the violet-eyed demon stumbles out of his door and to the room right next to his. Usually, Kurama or Kuronue got up and dealt with the three children. Karasu finds it odd that they haven't this morning. When he enters and finds the room empty of the two thieves, he gets worried especially when he notices the opened window. He first feeds Amarlie, Tiara, and Velaris before bringing them down the hall. He goes to Oto's room first and rouses the burly demon. "Oto, we have a problem," he says shaking him. Oto's brown eyes blink open and he looks up at him.

"What is it?" the demon asks groggily.

"Kuronue and Yoko are gone and the window is open," Karasu answers. That definitely gets Oto up. He heads out the door and Karasu follows. They stop in the doorway of the room Karasu had been in only moments before.

"Great. It must have been that damned fox-demon. Well, there isn't anything we can do at the moment other than watch these three. We don't even know where to start looking for them."

"I'll take care of them," Karasu says almost before he can stop himself. Oto looks at him with a raised eyebrow and Karasu can't hide the blush.

"Uh huh," is all he says before shuffling back to his room. Karasu knows that he's given him permission and carries the bassinet back to his room. The three babies are back asleep. 'If you hurt either of them, bastard, I will kill you,' Karasu thinks venomously, 'I will NOT let anyone hurt them!' When he realizes that he thought of Kuronue in the same regards he held Kurama, it startles him. 'Great, why don'tI fall for BOTH of them?' He sighs and just hopes that both of them are all okay because he's not sure if he'll be able to handle it if either of them is hurt.


	28. Part Twenty Seven

Part Twenty-seven: Breakdown

When morning comes and the others find out that Kurama and Kuronue

are gone, there isn't a happy demon or human in that room. "When we find that good-for-nothing peace of shit, he is going to regret ever coming after us," Kuwabara growls.

"His name is Corben, Kuwabara," Ani says softly.

"I don't care what his damn name is! He's got two close friends of mine and I don't appreciate it at all!" Kuwabara responds.

"I am well aware of your personal opinion of him, Kuwabara. I was just telling you his name," Ani answers sounding hurt and angry.

"Well, at this point, all the good his name is going to do is to say what goes on his tombstone!" Kuwabara fires back not sensing the demon's impending hormone induced fit.

"You don't have to yell at me!" Ani says in an upset tone. Immediately, Kuwabara feels his anger drain as he sees the tear-filled golden-eyes of his lover.

"Ani," he whispers, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you."

"Well, you did," the demon sniffles. Kuwabara pulls him into his arms.

"I'm sorry," he whispers again cradling him close. Ani snuggles into him and rests his head against his chest. He really, really hates his hormones at the moment.

Oto finds them there a few minutes later and finds a smile curving at the corners of his lips." You two look rather...cute like that," he remarks startling both of them and making them look at him. "Well, you are."

"Go away, brother, no one asked you," Ani grumbles though Kuwabara can feel the smile curving on the smaller demon's face.

"Well, Ryan was wondering where the two of you were," Oto says. That definitely gets Ani's attention. Carefully, he untangles himself from Kuwabara.

"I'd best go see him," the smaller demon says.

"Before you go, would you mind if I called Shizuru and told her about Ryan?" Kuwabara inquires.

"If you want to. I just don't want her coming here in a fit of rage, okay?""Alright. You go see to him and make sure he knows he's loved. You also might want to let him know he's got a few siblings on the way."

"I'll take that into consideration," Ani says before turning and heading upstairs.

"You can go on and use the phone. I am going to help Karasu take care of Tiara, Velaris, and Amarlie," Oto says continuing on into the kitchen.

Kuwabara waits a few minutes before getting up and heading over to the phone. Shizuru would be angry that he hadn't called her earlier and told her about Genkai, Hiei, and Bui, but he doesn't want to keep her in the dark. He picks up the phone and dials the number. It rings twice before being picked up. "Hello?" she asks.

"Hey, sis, it's me," he says.

"Kazuma, how's it going?"

"Well, a lot has happened. There has been two kidnappings the first one involving Genkai, Hiei, and Bui, and then again with Kurama and Kuronue. On top of that, it appears that Sakyo and Ani had a son so now three-year-old Ryan is now apart of the household," he answers.

"Wait...what?" his sister asks confused.

"Alright. I'll start at the beginning. It seems that a demon who was spared by the Toguro Brothers after Koenma paid them to kill his parents who were trying to assassinate him, AND was slighted by Yoko Kurama because he was in love with Kuronue, has returned to get revenge. He started by kidnapping Genkai, Hiei, and Bui. Then in the midst of that, we have a visitor that ends up with Oto walking back into the living room holding an adorable three-year-old boy and asking Ani if he hadn't said he had a son. Well, it turns out that Sakyo made Ani forget he was ever pregnant which is why he has no idea that he was a father. Next, Karasu wakes us up the day after this at four in the morning to announce that Kurama and Kuronue are now gone. There, I think we have covered all the angles."

"Tell me more about Ryan," Shizuru says immediately.

"Well, he definitely takes after his mother. He's got large, almond shaped golden eyes, black hair and is small like Ani. I don't see much of Sakyo in him at all. He's already melted my and Oto's hearts. He really is quite cute."

"I want to see him. May I come?"

"I don't see why not. Just be careful that you don't upset Ani. He's been really out of sorts since he can't remember what happened that made him pregnant with Ryan in the first place."

"Alright. I will be there in a few minutes, baby-bro."

"See you then, sis." He hears the line go dead and smiles slightly. Shizuru wouldn't stand a chance against Ryan's natural charms. If the child had managed to melt Oto's heart than there was no way that she'd be able to not be touched by his cuteness.

Five minutes later, the doorbell rings. He walks over and opens it to find his sister standing there. "So no word on everyone else?" she asks.

"No. We're just going to have to wait and hope that they are going to be alright. There isn't much else we can do at the moment," he responds. From the stairs, he hears a familiar giggle and smiles. "Well, come on, sis, I want to introduce you to Ryan." Wordlessly, Shizuru follows. Kuwabara brings her to the stairs where the three year old is slowly making his way down with Ani.

"Hello, Shizuru," he greets politely.

"Hello, Ani," she answers before looking at the small figure beside him. The young boy looks up at her with his large almond-shaped golden eyes and smiles charmingly. "You must be Ryan. My brother has told me so much about you," she murmurs.

"Ryan, this is my sister, Shizuru," Kuwabara says the child looks at her for a moment.

"Hi," he responds shyly.

"Hello," Shizuru answers, "He is absolutely gorgeous, Ani."

"Yes, yes he is," the shorter demon agrees. Shizuru smiles softly.

Shizuru brings Ryan into the living room as she notices Ani rubbing his temples. "Headache?" Kuwabara asks slightly concerned.

"Yeah, a bit of one. You don't think she'd mind helping you watch Ryan while I rest do you?"

"Of course not, go on upstairs. You need to rest," Kuwabara assures him with a soft smile. Ani smiles at him gratefully before he heads back to the room.

The small demon climbs atop the bed and rests his head against the pillow hoping that a bit of sleep would make his head stop hurting so much. He closes his eyes and soon his breathing evens out as he fades out. Once he's asleep something in him seems to just burst and like a movie, he's assaulted with images he'd never experienced before. Memories assail him and he finds the answers he was looking for and wishes he hadn't. He remembers the pain, the fear, and all the blood along with Sakyo's cruel laughter. A howl of agony escapes him as he becomes lost within the memories.

Kuwabara's head snaps up the cry. Shizuru looks at him. "Keep Ryan here," he tells her before racing up the stairs. He's met halfway by Oto. The burly demon wordlessly follows him to Ani's room. Upon entering, they find him writhing, his golden eyes glazed. "Oh gods," Kuwabara murmurs.

"We have to get him out of here," Oto says, "before he accidentally hurts someone...or himself." Kuwabara nods and both head towards Ani. It takes both of them to get the smaller demon from the bed and they have to dodge various projectiles. They struggle to the door and out of the house. The whole way, Ani is thrashing and screaming.

Hours later, Shizuru meets them at the hospital with Ryan. The child looks frightened. "Where's mommy?" he asks Kuwabara.

"He's resting right now," the carrot-top answers.

"Is he going to be alright?"

"Of course he is, sweetheart. He just started remembering some bad things. He just needs some time to work through them," Kuwabara assures the scared half-demon.

"Kuwabara, I'll take Ryan home," Oto says softly, "Shizuru should stay here with you."

"Are you sure?" Kuwabara inquires, "I mean I know you weren't expecting to get a three-year-old nephew suddenly."

"I'll have to get used to it sometime. I think it will be good. He shouldn't be here while his mother is in such a state and you shouldn't be alone with him in that state," Oto assures him.

"Alright," Kuwabara says before kneeling down before Ryan, "Your Uncle Oto is going to watch you while your aunt Shizuru and I stay with Mommy, okay?"

"You'll come back...right?" Ryan whispers.

"Of course, mommy, auntie, and I will be home as soon as we can," Kuwabara assures him. Ryan throws his arms around him and Kuwabara hugs him tenderly to him.

"Come home soon...daddy," Ryan whispers before kissing him on the cheek. Shocked, Kuwabara can only watch as Oto carries him from the waiting room. He feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Looks like he's chosen who his dad is," Shizuru murmurs. Kuwabara reaches up and quickly wipes the tears forming from his eyes.

"Yeah...it seems so. Now all I have to do is help his mommy get well enough to go home," he answers, "I WILL help Ani through this."


	29. Part Twenty Eight

Part Twenty-eight: Secrets and the Edge of Sanity

Kuronue and Kurama wake up to find themselves bound in cells. Both look around warily. "You know, you need to find better people to anger, fox," a familiar voice remarks. Turning his head, Yoko looks at Hiei who is in the cell beside them along with Genkai and Bui.

"I didn't think he'd do this," the silver-haired fox-demon says softly.

"I wouldn't have either, if the reason you were turning me down was NOT to rut with this pathetic excuse for a creature," Corben spits from the door of the cell.

"Kuronue is not a pathetic excuse for anything!" Yoko snarls back.

The brown haired fox demon stalks towards him and strikes him viciously across the face. "You had best learn to be more polite, Yoko. I don't want to have to hurt you but I won't hesitate to take it out on your friends or the bat-demon," Corben hisses.

Yoko isn't stupid enough to believe that Corben will leave Kuronue alone even if he does do as the demon says. He looks at him angry and slightly fearful as to what is going to happen to Kuronue. Then another thought occurs to him. The children weren't there! "Why didn't you take my children?" he asks.

"They mean nothing to me. They can sit there and rot for all I cared…miserably bat-demon hybrids that they are."

Fury races through Yoko's veins. No one got away with saying such things about HIS family but Corben leaves before he can make a scathing retort. "They'll be fine…right?" Kuronue murmurs looking worriedly at his mate.

"They'll be fine," Yoko assures him, though he doesn't know how much truth there is in that.

"They will be fine," Bui says softly. The blue-haired demon looks like he's going to start screaming at any moment and his voice is hoarse and forced.

"How do you know?" Kuronue asks.

"Because Karasu will bring down all of heaven and hell on whoever tries to hurt them," Bui answers.

"Why would he do that?" Kuronue asks.

"Because he cares far too much for Kurama to let anything happen to his children."

"What do you mean?"

"He's in love with Kurama." Both demons stare at him in stunned shock. "Yeah, don't worry about them. They're safe."

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Kuwabara fervently hates Sakyo as he sits beside Ani's bed. The smaller demon has been sedated and is shackled to the bed. The carrot-top had made sure that the sedative wouldn't be harmful to Ani's unborn children. He gently brushes his fingers through the demon's dark gray hair. "He'll be fine, baby-bro. That one has a stubborn streak a mile wide," Shizuru tells him.

"I don't know about that. It was obviously very painful for him to remember. I am afraid that he won't be able to recover from this."

"He's strong, Kazuma. He's proven that. Just give him time and he should be back to the utterly obnoxious, pregnant demon he is."

"He's not obnoxious," Kuwabara says instantly.

Shizuru chuckles. "You would be the first to defend him wouldn't you?"

"Maybe."

"Admit it, you like the guy."

"Maybe just a little bit."

Shizuru giggles knowing that one of these days Kazuma would admit to being in love with Ani. It would just take both of them time. She only hopes that they are given enough time to come to that realization. "I am going to go get some food, okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Kuwabara answers. She gives him a soft smile before heading out of the room. Kuwabara looks back at the unconscious demon and sighs. 'I hope she's right,' he thinks, 'I can't bear to lose him...not now.' He reaches out and gently brushes Ani's graying black hair from his face. He would be there as long as Ani needed him and he would do everything in his power to make sure the smaller demon got through his ordeal.

A throat being cleared catches his attention and he turns to see Koenma in the doorway. "What do you want?" he asks warily. The prince looks at him with an expression that tells him that something worse was about to occur.

"It's come to my attention that Sakyo is alive, Kuwabara," Koenma says, "He wants sole custody of Ryan."

Kuwabara goes to say something but a strangled cry catches his attention.

He turns to see Ani staring at Koenma in abject horror. The demon's already fragile emotional state mixed with his out of control hormones is only worsened. If Kuwabara thought that Oto making him wail was bad, it was nothing to the sounds that spill forth now. "Dammit, Koenma!" Kuwabara yells over the cries of the smaller demon, "Now was NOT a good time to bring this up!"

"What did you want me to do? I doubted that you would have liked me to wait until the day of the hearing!" Koenma shouts back.

Kuwabara doesn't answer as he reaches over and presses the button for the nurse though he figures one is already on their way because he is sure everyone can hear Ani. The door flies open and a nurse hurries in. "What happened?" she demands.

"Prince Koenma, here, decided to give him more bad news," Kuwabara says. The nurse sighs and tries to get him sedated but soon is forced to get help. With her, Koenma, Kuwabara, and four other staff members, it takes thirty minutes to get him sedated and asleep again.

Kuwabara scowls at Koenma. "Sakyo has another thing coming to him if he thinks he's getting Ryan," he tells the prince, "When is the hearing?"

"Four days from now," Koenma says and noticing the incredulous look adds on quickly, "he chose it, not me."

"Well, Ani definitely is in no position to go so I will go in his place. Mark my words, Koenma, Ryan will NEVER see his father. I will make sure of it."

"I am sure you will, Kuwabara. I am sorry for upsetting him further."

"You should be. It's bad enough he had to remember being raped by Sakyo…just go Koenma, just go."

"Leaving," the prince says before disappearing out of the door mere seconds before Shizuru appears.

"What happened?" she asks.

"Koenma came and revealed that Sakyo is back and that he wants Ryan,"

Kuwabara answers looking at her gravely, "That man will be dead before I ever let him see Ryan again."

"I am sure he will be," Shizuru says, "Do you want me to call Oto and tell him?"

"No, I am sure he's having enough issues with those at the mansion and dealing with a three-year-old. I don't want him storming in here pissed as all hell. Ani wouldn't want to wake up to that and I wouldn't want him to see that."

"Alright. Do you want me to go get you something to eat?"

"I don't know if I can right now." He feels her hand on his shoulder and closes his eyes. "How much worse is this going to get before it gets better?" His voice is choked and he's having trouble keeping his emotions steady.

"I don't know baby-bro, I don't know," Shizuru whispers squeezing gently, "You need to try and keep strong for Ani and Ryan. They need you."

"I know. Seeing him like this just hurts."

"I can tell. You just hang in here and do the best you can."

Kuwabara reaches up and wipes the tears that were forming away. "Had someone told me at the beginning of the Dark Tournament that I would end up like this, I would have laughed and told them to stop drinking or doing drugs. I never imagined this sort of life."

"No one ever does, Kazuma."

Kuwabara looks at Ani again. He hates seeing the demon look so frail and vulnerable. He reaches down and gently strokes the side of his face. His blue eyes soften. "I love him, Shizuru…I don't know how or why, but I do. I never imagined that I would want to spend the rest of my life with Ani Toguro but I do."

"I know, baby-bro, I know."

"It will be okay...won't it?"

The pleading in his tone almost breaks her heart and she pulls him to her. "I don't know the answer to that, Kazuma, we just have to hold on tight and hope for the best. So far, we've come through everything that has come our way. I don't think our winning streak is going to get broken any time soon. Be there for him...love him. That will make all the difference in the world."

"I hope so because I don't know what I will do if I lose him."

"I hope that you never have to find out."


	30. Part Twenty Nine

Part Twenty-nine: What Happens When Kazuma Loses Control

Oto finds himself quickly learning how to care for the three-year-old nephew who was suddenly dropped into his life. He had to admit, though, that he wasn't too against the position he know finds himself in. Ryan had cried himself to sleep against Oto, scared that he was going to lose his mother. Oto had tucked the child in and went to his room to get changed and get some much needed sleep of his own.

Hours later, a small voice and persistent shaking, wakes him up. "Unca Oto," Ryan whispers. His brown-eyes flutter open and it takes him a moment to get himself oriented. Once he is, he realizes what the next words out of his nephew's mouth are going to be. "I wet the bed."

Slowly, the burly demon sits up and looks at the small child who is obviously very embarrassed…and wet. He gives a soft smile. "It's alright. Let's get you cleaned up and then I'll deal with the bed," he says before carefully picking the small framed child up.

"I sorry," Ryan whispers.

"It's okay, Ryan," Oto assures him. It surprises him that he isn't as mad as he normally is when awoken from sleep at such an early hour but he doesn't dwell on that. He carries the child into the bathroom before setting him down to fill the tub with a few inches of water. As it is filling, he gently unclothes the youngster. Ryan gives him a shy smile and Oto chuckles softly. The child was just too cute.

For the next hour, Oto washes Ryan and ends up just as wet as the golden-eyed half-demon thought it funny to splash him. "This is an utterly cute scene," a voice says from the doorway. Oto looks back at Itsuki. The Yaminade smiles at him.

"Ryan had an accident…normal for a child of his age," Oto answers.

"Yes, though he seems to think that you need a bath, too."

Oto chuckles. "So it would seem. You just wait until yours are born, Itsuki. You'll have to face the same thing."

"I am sure you are right. It probably would be a good idea to make sure that Kazuya is not out, wouldn't it?"

"Probably. If worse comes to worse, have his female personality help."

Itsuki chuckles. "I am sure he'd be delighted to hear that."

"Well, I am not going to tell him that. You are the only one who could do such a thing without being shot."

"Yes, that is probably right."

Oto chuckles at the demon's answer before being splashed again. He looks down at Ryan who is looking at him innocently. "I know you did that," he tells him.

"Did what?" Ryan asks.

Oto hears Itsuki chuckle before the door closes. "You definitely take after your mother," he says, "You definitely take after Ani."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

On the morning of the hearing, Kuwabara has no idea what he's going to say to Sakyo upon meeting him. He only hopes that he can keep his temper in check enough to be able to convince whoever was on the jury that Ryan was best with him and his mother. "Thanks for staying with him, Shizuru, I really appreciate this."

"It's no problem. You just go and make that bastard sorry he was ever born," she answers.

"I will," Kazuma says before he heads for the door. He doesn't know how he is going to accomplish this only that he will...for the sake of his lover and his lover's child who he is quickly coming to think of as his own son.

Arriving at the court, he finds Sakyo standing before Koenma. The dark haired, blue-eyed gambler turns to look at him. "Ani won't face me himself? That's disappointing," he remarks.

"You ought to just keep your mouth shut, Sakyo. You have no idea just who you are dealing with," Kuwabara snarls back. He feels his temper on the verge of snapping.

"Why? It's his own damn fault he got pregnant. He should have been more aware of his surroundings."

"You raped him!" Kuwabara fires back, "You raped him and have the audacity to try and get his son? Over my dead body, you sorry sack of shit!"

"You have no say in this, Kazuma."

"As Ani is MY lover, I have EVERY say in this matter!"

"Gentlemen, could we please try and keep this civil?" Koenma breaks in.

Both quiet and look up at the prince of Spirit World though they send ugly glares at each other at various moments. "You two will have to convince a jury as to why Ryan will be cared for best with you. You will respect each other and will not brawl in this court or I will have to declare you both unfit and place Ryan in another orphanage."

Both seem to take the prince seriously and go about the hearing being civil...for a few hours.Sakyo goes first and Kuwabara watches him try to sway the jury to his side. He really, really hates the bastard. The man had absolutely no shame. He only hopes that the idiot stays away from insulting Ani because Kuwabara can feel his demon side just below the surface and he doesn't know what will happen if the suited man enrages him.

Finally, Sakyo says the wrong thing. He states that Ani shouldn't be allowed to have a child as he seemed incapable of keeping his legs closed and gave a pointed look towards Kuwabara. If the carrot-top had thought that Yusuke had angered him that day in the street, this was an eye-opener. He feels a rage so deep spill through him and before he knows it, he's in front of Sakyo who is staring at him in abject terror. Without even thinking about it, he leans forward and sinks his fangs into the human's throat before yanking backwards and blood starts flowing. He looks at Sakyo and as he's dying, hisses, "This is what happens when you attack those who I considered MINE!" He then steps back and watches the man die before looking up at Koenma and growling, "I would think a long time before you say anything, Prince. You have already tried to kill my lover and unborn children. Whatever you say now will decide whether or not you will live."

Koenma stares at the carnage before him and realizes that the young man had completed his transformation to a demon. He also knows that Kazuma is not bluffing and that he WILL kill him if he tries to take Ryan away. "Ryan will stay in the custody of his mother Ani," he says faintly. Kuwabara merely nods before turning and walking out of the room.The prince doesn't stop trembling until the demon is out sight. He had never thought Kazuma would be capable of such violence but then realizes that people will do ANYTHING for those they love.

Kuwabara walks out of there trying not to think about what just happened. He knows that he crossed a line he would never be able to recross though he feels no guilt about killing the man. Sakyo had deserved it for what he had said about Ani. The smaller demon was no whore. A feeling of deep satisfaction wells up within him. At least now Ani could heal and know that Ryan would be safe with them. 'No one is going to take your son from you, Ani,' he thinks, 'No one.'


	31. Part Thirty

Part Thirty: Reactions, and Admissions

Corben comes back into the cell at various times to torment Kuronue who he seems to have an absolute loathing for. Kurama is becoming very distressed and angry at being unable to protect his mate who is still recovering from being pregnant and giving birth. He knows that the fox-demon won't stop until he's killed Kuronue and that just makes him even angrier. The only thing good out of the whole situation is that Corben seems too preoccupied with harming Kuronue that he has yet to go after Ani. None of the demons held within the cells or Genkai wishes any harm to befall the smaller demon, not after all he's been through.

The seventh time Corben comes in, he uses a rosewhip and almost completely shreds Kuronue. It shocks everyone else to find that he's still alive after Corben is done with him. "He's not going to survive another beating," Yoko whispers after the deranged fox-demon leaves the cell.

"Well, fox, there isn't much we can do at the moment," Hiei responds. Yoko doesn't answer, he just wants to get out of there before he had to watch his mate die…again. There would be no way to get him back after this, and the silver-haired fox knows it. He looks at the battered form of his lover and wonders if he was only going to lose him after he had been reunited with him. 'Please…I don't care how, just don't let me lose Kuronue…not again.'

It is four hours later that Corben returns. He smirks at the still unconscious bat-demon before stalking towards him. "No," Yoko pleads, "Corben, please."

"I have to do this, Yoko. It's the only way. This filthy beast has seduced you and he needs to be punished."

"If anyone is a filthy beast, it's you," Bui retorts caustically. The fox-demon turns his attention onto him. "Well, you are, fox." The last words is spit at him hoping that the demon will come his way. The ax-wielder has finally had with him and his insane need for revenge.

Corben bristles at the demon's tone. "You don't know what you're saying, you poor excuse for a demon," he sneers back.

"Why don't you say that to my face?" Bui taunts though his voice is still choked with pain. Corben, not sensing the trap that has been laid walks right up top him.

"I said…"

That is as far as the fox-demon gets as Bui lets go of his spirit energy completely. Corben's eyes widen in shock before his body is incinerated. After he exhausts himself, Bui stops and looks around quickly. "We're fine, ax-wielder," Hiei says, "When he died, the wards disappeared allowing us to shield ourselves. Why didn't you do that sooner?"

"He didn't get close enough and I wasn't about to endanger any of you."

"I don't see why not," the fire-demon retorts.

"It was because Oto would kill me if anything happened to Genkai and I don't wish you any ill-will," he responds.

"Hn."

"You're welcome," Bui responds. He watches as Genkai hurries to begin healing Kuronue and remembers what he revealed to both him and his lover Kurama. 'Karasu is going to kill me,' he thinks, 'Karasu is absolutely going to kill me.'

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Kuwabara returns to the hospital to see Ani after washing the blood off of himself and calming down enough to revert back to his human form. He finds Ani awake and talking to Shizuru when he enters. "Well, that was fast. You were only gone forty-five minutes," his sister says, "Did something happen?"

"Yeah, Sakyo pissed me off," he answers, "I completed my demonic transformation, ripped his throat out, and threatened Koenma. Not bad for a days work, if I do say so myself."

"What about Ryan?" Ani asks.

"He's staying with you. I wasn't about to leave that room if Koenma didn't leave him in your custody."

"You actually threatened Koenma?"

"Yes, I told him to make his decision carefully because it would decide whether or not I killed him."

"What did Sakyo say about Ani to make you react that way?" Shizuru inquires.

"He called him a whore," the carrot-top answers, "I didn't take too well to it."

"No, I can guess that you didn't," she says though there is a hint of pride in her voice.

Ani gives him a slight smile. "Thank you," he murmurs.

"You're welcome. I wasn't about to let that bastard piece of shit have Ryan."

"At least now we know he's dead," Shizuru murmurs, "Oh, Kazuma, the doctors say that Ani can go home in two or so days."

"That's wonderful news," Kuwabara says before walking over and gently kissing Ani on the forehead. The smaller demon looks up at him.

"Can I talk to you…privately?" he asks.

"Of course," Kuwabara says before turning towards his sister but he doesn't have to ask her anything.

"I'll be down in the cafeteria," she says smiling before she leaves. After she closes the door, Kuwabara turns back to the smaller demon.

"What did you need to talk about?" Kuwabara asks sitting beside him on the bed.

"He raped me, Kazuma. That bastard raped me! I couldn't do anything because I was warded and he owned us," the smaller demon whispers. Kuwabara slowly wraps his arms around him and pulls him close to him.

"It changes nothing, Ani," he says softly, "It changes absolutely nothing…especially not the way I feel about you."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know me. I hate that he hurt you but I don't regret Ryan…I'll never regret Ryan."

"Neither will I. He's precious."

"He's nothing like his father."

"No…no he isn't." Ani looks up at him. "I don't know if anyone is ready for what is coming."

"Probably not but they'll just have to deal with it," Kuwabara tells him.

"Are you sure you're ready to be a father? You're only sixteen."

"I don't care how old I am, Ani! I am going to raise not only the three you are going to have, but Ryan as well."

"Most sixteen-year-olds wouldn't be so willing to say that."

"Well, most sixteen-year-olds haven't seen what I have. I have fought countless battles deciding the fate of the world. I think I can handle fatherhood."

"Can you deal with the mother of the children, though?"

Kuwabara looks at him for a moment before smiling softly. "I love the mother of MY children," he tells him.


	32. Part Thirty One

Part Thirty-one: Home Again

Oto is gently bouncing Ryan on his knee when he gets an unexpected and quite unwelcome intruder in the living room. "Where the hell is Kuwaba…who the hell is the midget?" Yusuke demands.

"I would ask that you watch your language around my nephew, Yusuke," Oto says irritably, "Kuwabara is out with Ani."

"If this is your nephew that would make him Ani's son…how is that possible?"

"That is, quite frankly, none of your business," Oto answers feeling his tenuous hold on his temper slipping, "Leave now, Urameshi, I don't want you here."

"Does Kuwabara know about this?"

"Yes."

"So he knows that your brother gets around?"

Before Oto can react, Itsuki, who almost appears out of no where, gently picks up Ryan. The Yaminade silently carries the small child out of the room letting Oto and Yusuke have their fight. "My brother is NO whore!" Oto snarls standing up. His fists clench and he is highly tempted to sock Yusuke in the mouth.

"Then how do you explain that child?" Yusuke demands.

"Sakyo RAPED him!" Oto says angrily, "but then you would know nothing of that, would you! Get the hell out of this house and away from my family before I spatter you across the damn Makai!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upstairs, Itsuki cradles Ryan to him as he sits down on the bed. The small child looks at him. "Why unca Oto so mad?" he asks.

"The person downstairs said something mean about your mom," Itsuki answers, "Your uncle doesn't take to kindly to people saying that about him."

"Why is your tummy round?" Ryan asks suddenly staring at him.

"I'm having a child of my own," Itsuki answers with a soft smile.

"Oh, wow."

"Yes, in a little over five months there is going to be a new arrival," Shinobu remarks walking in. he smiles at the child.

"I heard that mommy is especting…wight?"

"Yes, you are going to be a big brother in a little over seven months."

"My mommy and daddy won't forget 'bout me, will they?"

"Of course not, Ryan," Itsuki assures him, "You're parents love you too much for that."

"Mommy is comin' home soon, isn' he?"

"Your parents will be arriving in a little under four minutes," Itsuki answers smiling at him.

"Weally?"

"Yes, really. I am psychic, I know these things." He smiles as he watches the small boy's eyes light up. He had really, really missed his parents the passed week. Itsuki hopes that Ani is finally through with the issues plaguing him. Suddenly he tilts his head.

"Something wrong?" Shinobu inquires.

"No, Kurama, Kuronue, Bui, Hiei, and Genkai are free," he answers smiling, "I have a feeling we're going to have a large party on our hands soon."

"I only hope that Yusuke keeps his mouth shut because if Ani or Kuwabara hear him, I would hate to see what they could do to him while angry."

"Well that will be his burden to bear, no one else's."

Shinobu goes to reply but the familiar sound of Kuwabara's voice halts him. "Daddy!" Ryan exclaims squirming in Itsuki's lap. The teal-haired demon closes his eyes before smiling and gently setting the child down. Ryan is immediately out the door and he hears him heading down the stairs.

"He sure is cute," Shinobu remarks.

"Yes, yes he is," Itsuki answers, "Do you think we're ready to be parents, Shinobu?"

"I think so. Are you having second thoughts?"

"No, I just wonder if we will make good parents. I haven't had much in the way of experience and your parents well…" he trails off.

"I know neither of us have had good examples to take from but we'll figure it out. I mean, we aren't the only ones who seem to not really know what it is they are doing."

"True enough. You should have watched Oto cleaning up Ryan after his accident," the Yaminade says suddenly before chuckling.

"Why?"

"Because Ryan decided it would be fun to splash him. I don't know which of them was more soaked by the time it was all done."

Shinobu smiles softly. "You're right, I would have loved to see that. He must have looked really hot wet."

Itsuki chuckles at Shinobu's words. Ever since they had moved in, both had found themselves attracted to Oto though neither were in any hurry to tell the burly demon that. They contented themselves with merely watching him though they would love to do so much more.

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After entering the house and finding Yusuke there, Kuwabara calmly grabs the demon's shoulder before spinning him around and telling him that if he doesn't leave the premises within the next forty seconds, he would leave it in pieces. With a heated glare sent at his friend, Yusuke leaves. Kuwabara rolls his eyes. "I definitely don't miss that," he tells Ani.

The smaller demon goes to agree when a small voice shrieks, "Mommy, daddy, you're home!" Ani soon finds his arms full of his three-year-old son.

"Yes, we're home, sweet-heart," Ani murmurs cradling him close, "I am sorry if I scared you."

"You didn' scare me. I just worried that you wasn' comin' home," the three-year-old says.

"I would never abandon you willingly, Ryan, never," Ani promises.

The three-year-old looks up. "Hi, daddy," he greets.

Kuwabara smiles. "How's my little man? Did you behave for your uncle?"

"Yes…'cept I sorta wet the bed once," he admits.

"It's alright, there was no harm done," Oto says.

"Of course not," Kuwabara agrees, "It happens at your age."

"Wow, we definitely missed something," a familiar voice says.

"Bui!" Kuwabara says spinning around. The blue-haired demon smiles sheepishly.

"Umm, hi," he greets.

"Who you?" Ryan demands looking up at him.

"Ryan, this is Bui. Bui, this is my son, Ryan," Ani says. Bui looks confused.

"We'll explain later," Kuwabara tells him. The blue-haired demon nods his head and walks all the way in allowing Kurama and Kuronue into the house. Both demons look exhausted and in need of rest, and Kuronue still looks a bit injured.

"You two go on upstairs and rest," Oto tells them, "I'll have Karasu continue to look after your sons."

"Okay," Kurama murmurs sleepily. Both demons stumble a bit on their way up to their rooms but they eventually make it.

"Hiei, you are welcome to stay if you like," Ani says noticing the fire-demon in the doorway. He looks at him and at the child in his arms.

"He's nothing like his father," he remarks slowly walking in.

"No, he doesn't seem to be."

"I am…glad things are working out with you and Kuwabara."

"Thank you, Hiei," Kuwabara murmurs honored that the fire-demon was actually voicing what he felt, "There is an empty room on the second floor. It is the fourth one on the right." He hides a smile at the relieved look on the fire-demon's face before he disappears up the stairs in a blur.

"He's not comfortable admitting his emotions," Ani remarks.

"No, but little by little he does," Kuwabara answers, "We just have to learn how to make him feel comfortable enough to do so."

"Is he a fwiend?" Ryan asks.

"Yes, Hiei is a friend. He just doesn't know how to talk to people."

"Oh."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kurama sinks down onto the bed before having his arms full of Kuronue.

"After we rest, we are talking to Karasu, right?" the bat-demon murmurs.

"Yes, though I am not sure what to say to him," the now redheaded human admits.

"Well, how about; Hey sexy, ya wanna join us in bed?" Kuronue teases.

"Kuro!"

"What?" the bat-demon asks.

"That was completely uncalled for and you know it!"

"Well, he is."

"That is beside the point!"

"Is it?"

"YES!"

"You need to relax before you send yourself into a fit. I was joking. That would not be a good way to start a conversation."

"No, no it wouldn't. I was thinking that we sit him down in the living room and try and see what it is he feels for me and whether or not he might ever be able to like you."

"Is disliking me even possible?"

"KURONUE!"

"Oh sorry, that was uncalled for, wasn't it?"

"Do I even have to answer that question?"

"No…I guess not. So we sit him down and ask him whether or not he could ever get fond of me? Sounds like a plan to me," Kuronue murmurs yawning.

"That's what we'll do…after we rest for a good few days," Kurama mumbles as he begins to drift off towards sleep. He doesn't hear Kuronue's soft laughter as his mind finally shuts off though his mate soon follows.


	33. Part Thirty Two

Part Thirty-two: Of New And Blossoming Relationships

The next morning finds all the members of the household downstairs in the living room. The house was definitely full but no one seemed to mind that or the three wailing infants waiting to be fed. Ryan looks around shyly from the safety of his mother's lap. "There's lots of people here," he announces.

"Yes, there are but they all live here."

"Whys weren't they here when I gots here?"

Ani pauses for a moment wondering how to phrase it for a three-year-old child. He isn't sure whether he should tell him the truth or embellish it a little bit. Thankfully, though, Genkai helps him out. "We ran into a delay in returning home," she tells him. Ani gives her a grateful smile. She smiles back.

"Oh. Who was that mean guy?" he asks.

Kuwabara rolls his eyes. "That was Yusuke. He's supposedly a friend of mine but he doesn't like Ani much."

"Then I don't like him!" Ryan declares. Kazuma and Ani both laugh.

"This is still strange," Bui comments staring at the child, "I am not sure what to think about this."

"When we figure it out ourselves, we'll let you know," Ani responds.

"You don't know, either?"

"Bui, I'm pregnant with triplets and I wasn't aware of Ryan until Botan comes to the door and brings him to me. The only thing I do know is that I love him and anyone who tries to hurt him will die a very slow and very painful death by my hands."

Kuwabara smiles softly. "That's all that really matters at the moment.

Everything else can come in time. It's a lot for all of us to get used to."

"Well, at least he's cute," Genkai comments, "He obviously takes after his mother."

Kazuma laughs at the blush that appears on Ani's face. The mood lightens as the others join in with the carrot-top. Ryan cuddles closer to his mom who rolls his eyes. "You are still as vexing as ever," he grumbles to Genkai.

"That is not something I am changing very soon, Aniki," she responds.

"Don't call me Aniki," he growls at her. This only serves to amuse Ryan who starts giggling and then laughing helplessly. Ani looks down at the child doubled over laughing and smiles fondly. For all the pain his birth entailed, Ani wouldn't change anything for the world.

"You know you're not terrifying when a three-year-old laughs at you when you growl, brother-dearest," Oto teases.

Ani glowers at his brother. "No one asked for your opinion, Otouto!"

"Of course not but that doesn't mean I won't give it when I want to."

Ani looks at Kazuma. "Do you see what I have to deal with? He's constantly harassing me!"

"Hey, don't look at me for sympathy. YOU'RE the older brother, you deal with him," the carrot-top responds.

"He's four times my size!"

"You're resorting to whining?"

"YES!"

Kuwabara smiles and shakes his head. "Poor Ani, he has to deal with his cruel

YOUNGER brother because he can't tell him to be quiet and behave himself!"

"Do you want to sleep on the couch?" Ani asks.

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, I am asking you for your opinion."

"Oto leave my boyfriend alone!"

Oto laughs at this.

In the kitchen, Karasu finishes preparing the children's bottles. He's still unaware that Bui has told Kuronue or Kurama about his feelings or the impending conversation about to take place. He hears the kitchen door open and close but thinks nothing of it until a voice says, "Karasu, we need to talk."

Recognizing Kurama's voice startles him though he shows no outward sign of shock. "What about?" he asks.

"Bui told Kuronue and me something while we were captured by Corben. He said that we could relax and not worry about the children because you would protect them. He clarified it by saying the reason nothing would happen to our children is because you were in love with me and would do anything to protect them."

Karasu feels the color drain from his face. This was not a conversation he wanted to have with the fox-demon. "Whatever my feelings may be happen to be none of your business, Kurama," he says shortly. He picks up the bottles and checks them. They were done. "The bottles are prepared," he remarks before making his way to the door. Kuronue doesn't let him pass.

"You aren't going anywhere until we've spoken with you," the bat-demon tells him.

"I have nothing to say to you…either of you so leave me alone and let me go elsewhere." He suddenly feels claustrophobic and feels the deep-seated need to flee...fast.

"You might have nothing to say to us but that doesn't mean the same isn't true. You don't have to say anything. We just want you to hear US out," Kurama tells him in a soothing voice, "You need to relax, we aren't angry with you."

"Far from it actually," Kuronue responds grinning. Kurama gives him a warning look which is promptly ignored by the bat-demon. He doesn't see how it would help to be coy with the dark haired bomb-wielder. Getting a good look at him, he doesn't see how Kurama kept his hands off such a jewel. 'Maybe his being evil had something to do with it,' his mind suggests. Kuronue shakes off such needless information. He'd heard all about how they had met and Karasu's less than decent actions towards his lover. However, he also knows that it was merely one side to the violet-eyed demon's many faceted personality.

Karasu is still sure he should get as far away from both demons as he can…however, the fact that they are standing between him and the door makes it almost impossible to do so. His shoulders drop. "Say what you need," he tells them, "but be quick about it."

"You need to relax, violet-eyes. You're tenser than a spring," Kuronue comments.

"Violet-eyes?" Karasu inquires.

Kuronue grins at him. "It works as a pet-name. I highly doubt you want us to call you crow-baby now do you?"

Karasu can only stare at the sapphire-eyed male while his thoughts go chaotic. Kurama rolls his eyes. "Kuronue, it's called tact," the redhead tells him.

"No, your version is called beating around the bush…or the damned Makai for that matter," Kuronue responds, "This is the best method for him; straight and upfront.

I highly doubt he likes to get strung along."

Karasu snaps himself out of it. "Did you just say pet-name?" he asks.

Kuronue laughs. "And he finally returns to us. Yes, violet-eyed lovely, I said pet-name. You know what lovers call each other as a term of endearment."

Again, Karasu is stricken to silence. Kurama sighs and decides that he might as well just do as his lover was. He steps up to the shocked demon before tilting his face down and kissing him.

Karasu decides that there is no greater pleasure in the world than kissing Kurama…well, until Kuronue decides to help the redhead. Karasu is soon breathless and leaning against the counter for support. He stares at the two males who are watching him. "I think I should thank Bui…right after I smack him around for telling you," he murmurs gently touching his lips.

"Or we could go give the bottles to someone else, have them watch the children, and go enjoy ourselves," Kuronue suggests. He waits for Kurama's rejection of the idea and when it doesn't come, he turns to look at his lover. Kurama gives a grin that can only be described as predatory.

"I definitely like the second choice," he states looking at Karasu, "I definitely like that second choice."

"Well, suffice to say, you are going to pay for the Dark Tournament," Kuronue comments wrapping his hands around the bomb-wielder's waist, "and as good of a fighter as he is, it's nothing compared to how he is in bed."

Karasu raises an eyebrow before murmuring, "Strangely enough, I'm not all that afraid."

"You should be, violet-eyes, you should be," Kuronue cautions, "He IS a real demon in bed."


	34. Part Thirty Three

Author's note: I know, I know…not what you were all expecting but…I am trying to find the muse for this particular story. I promise that I will have more for the next chapter…as always your comments and ideas keep me going so please, don't be afraid to give them. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism always welcome though you all know that so if you want to whine about the pairing I don't know what you are doing at part thirty-three…anyway, I hope you all at least like this. It has been toned down to avoid being removed…and just because I haven't been able to write a decent threesome yet. And in any event, I don't think that the sex is the prudent thing in this chapter. So it's more of a filler…sue me.

Part Thirty-Three

When Kuronue appears in the doorway with the bottles, Kuwabara knows instinctively what is going on. He laughs softly before heading over and taking them. "Enjoy him, Kuronue," he tells him.

"Oh we plan on it," the bat-demon responds with a grin, "You don't mind do you?"

"No, not at all," Kuwabara assures him, "Go on and claim your Crow." The bat-demon gives him a grateful smile before disappearing. Kuwabara shakes his head and walks over to the squabbling babies.

"What was that about?" Ani asks.

"Kurama and Kuronue are going to go have fun with Karasu so the little ones need to be watched."

Ani laughs. "Well, it's about time for him…I am glad Bui told them about his feelings. He deserves the best."

"Yes, he does," Kuwabara agrees absently as he goes about feeding Velaris, Amarlie, and Tiara.

"This should be interesting when Yusuke finds out," Shizuru comments, "He's going to think you both went nuts."

"Urameshi needs to get over himself," Kuwabara mutters.

"He has reasons for not trusting us, Kazu," Ani tells him.

"He needs to get over it."

"When does the detective do what is wanted of him?" Hiei asks making an appearance.

"Good point," Kuwabara mutters as he places the little ones back in the bassinet, "However, he needs to mind his own business."

"He still won't listen," Genkai responds.

Kuwabara sighs softly. "He's never going to accept this…which is really, really sad."

"Of course not, but that is his loss. You need to focus on your own life, Kazuma and let him have his," Genkai tells him. The carrot-top nods. He did have his own life to live whether or not Yusuke agreed with it.

"Well, Yusuke aside, this is getting really…insane," Bui mutters.

"You think?" Kuwabara fires back, "This isn't how anyone of us predicted our lives going…but I don't think we can complain either. I am trying to focus on the fact that I have a son and two more and a daughter on the way."

"The fact that you are dating Ani Toguro is in and of itself strange and unusual," the ax-wielder retorts.

"If that is strange and unusual, what do you call Kuronue and Kurama with KARASU?" Kuwabara asks.

"Too creepy to think about," Bui responds. Oto snorts from his place on the couch and Ani starts giggling. That sets off Ryan and before long, the whole room is laughing…except for the little ones.

Once the room is silent again, Itsuki comments, "Well, I am hoping that is the last of our troubles."

"I doubt it," Kuwabara mutters, "With our luck, it's just the beginning of them."

"You're being pessimistic, Kazu."

"No, I am being realistic."

"Realistic?" Genkai inquires.

"Yes, realistic. NOTHING ever seems to go smoothly with us. You should have discovered this from our fights as Spirit Detectives."

"Well, that doesn't mean that you need to constantly think that things are going to get worse."

"It isn't thinking, it's been proven fact."

"Kazu," Ani starts but is interrupted.

"No, Ani. It makes whatever comes around the bend easier to deal with when it gets here."

"Wow, you all sound so jaded," Bui comments.

"It comes with the territory," the carrot-top responds.

"You're starting to sound like Kurama," Hiei comments offhandedly. That stills Kuwabara.

"I sound like Kurama?" he asks.

"You sound as jaded…next step would be sounding like me."

"Oh lord" Kuwabara groans, "If I start sounding like you please shoot me right then and there."

Ani starts laughing at his side and gets an ugly look from him. "What, it's funny," he comments.

"I'll do one better and if you start sounding like me, I'll kill you," Hiei tells him.

Kuwabara looks at him and it takes him a minute to realize that Hiei was TEASING him. He grins widely before he laughs. "Agreed," he responds with a smile. Seeing the slight curve to the fire demon's lips makes the conversation all the better.

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Karasu starts to believe that Kuronue was right about Kurama…especially when the red head pounces on him and pins him to the bed. His green eyes sparkle impishly and he leans close enough to his ear to whisper, "Isn't this what you have craved since the Dark Tournament?"

"This isn't quite it but…I am not complaining," he admits softly.

"Good," the redhead responds before taking his mask, "Now, let's get you a little more comfortable, shall we?" Karasu has no chance to respond as he suddenly finds himself at a loss for clothes.

"Ooooh, he IS cute!" Kuronue teases from where he is sitting on the side of the bed watching.

"He really is," Kurama agrees staring at the pale skinned male appraisingly, "a real gem."

Karasu finds himself blushing. He hadn't thought he'd been capable of such a human trait as being embarrassed by such things. It was funny what one could still learn about oneself. However, he quickly gets impatient. "When are you two going to get…comfortable?"

Kurama laughs. "I think someone wants to get us naked."

"Of course he does, we're irresistible!"

"Arrogant, aren't you?" Karasu teases. This gets him hit in the face with Kuronue's hat. He goes to retaliate but can only yelp as his wrists are bound above his head with vines. "K-Kurama?" he asks uncertainly.

Kurama smiles gently. "Relax, you're in no danger from us, Karasu."

"I hate to be insulting but I am not all that convinced, Kurama," Karasu responds.

The redhead gives a mock depressed sigh. "I am getting rusty at this if I cannot even make you think I am being honest…damn."

"You're a demon…no matter what you may look like now, redhead. I am not stupid enough to think that vines being wrapped around my wrists are anything less than dangerous…you've also warded me."

"My, you are a quick one," Kurama teases.

"I know my body, Kurama."

"Well, one would hope so," Kuronue comments.

"Shut up, bat-demon!"

Kuronue smirks at him. "Okay," he agrees.

Karasu cocks his head and suddenly wonders if it was such a good idea that the bat-demon was acquiescing so fast. A moment later finds Kuronue kissing him deeply. He leans into it as much as he can with the vines restraining him. The bat demon was definitely a talented kisser. He was wondering if he was also talented in other aspects. He knows he's about to find out not only about him but about Kurama as well.


End file.
